• CNBC's Jim Cramer on Friday told investors not to make any major stock moves right before a company's quarterly report.
• "You shouldn't try to play the earnings game, meaning don't trade stocks on the basis of what you're expecting from their quarterly numbers," Cramer said. "It's simply gotten too hard. I think it makes a lot more sense to wait until you see the quarter, pull it apart, and then make a judgment once you know all the facts."

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Friday told investors not to make any major stock moves right before a company's quarterly report.

"You shouldn't try to play the earnings game, meaning don't trade stocks on the basis of what you're expecting from their quarterly numbers," Cramer said. "It's simply gotten too hard. I think it makes a lot more sense to wait until you see the quarter, pull it apart, and then make a judgment once you know all the facts."

Cramer used chipmaker Micron as an example of why it's important to wait and assess earnings before buying or selling. The company released its quarterly report earlier this week, with revenue beating Wall Street's expectations. However, Micron also issued a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast, which sent its shares down.

Cramer saw this dip as a buying opportunity, saying investors shouldn't "extrapolate the CEO's bearishness to the stock itself."

Cramer conceded that there are some instances where one might not be able to make moves after the report. But he said that's not an excuse to trade based on earnings expectations.

"There are enough of these stocks around that you don't need to play an ill-fated guessing game of earnings roulette," he said. "Just wait for the results, wait for the conference call and figure it out from there."

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