Cramer Effect Lifts WellPoint, Sinks Lowes and Wendys

The “Cramer Effect” was in full effect today, after positive comments by Jim Cramer on his Mad Money show helped lift Well Point (WLP: 50.72 +1.68%), Bank of America (BAC: 14.04 +0.07%) and Celgene (CELG: 55.15 +2.70%). 

Cramer stated yesterday that concerns over Obama’s healthcare reform were overdone. The uncertainty surrounding these reforms has likely had a more negative impact than the actual reforms will. Cramer even stated that it is likely that the reforms won’t be as bad as expected. Cramer’s recommended Wellpoint as a play on the recovery in healthcare stocks. The bullish recommendation caused WLP to gain 5.4% on above average trading volume. 

While he doesn’t like the fact that Wellpoint bought back stock at relatively high prices, Cramer thinks the right multiple for the stock is 10 or 11 rather than the current 8, which means this $47 stock should be trading in the $60s. Cramer likes Wellpoint, in particular because of its profitable sale of Express Scripts for $4.6 billion. If Obama’s healthcare reforms fail, the stock could fetch as much as $100. 

Bank of America also experienced a nice lift after Cramer again recommended the stock as a play on the housing market bottoming. BAC gained 4.9% today. 

Celgene and Genzyme (GENZ: 69.56 -0.33%) also benefited from the Cramer effect, gaining 2.8% and 0.7% respectively. This was after Cramer noted the move from commodities to defensive stocks. He recommended playing this trend by investing in high-growth biotech names such as Celgene and Genzyme. He also thinks these companies will be less vulnerable to Obama’s reforms than other names in the sector. 

The “Cramer Effect” was also in play for Cramer’s bearish stock picks. Wendy’s (WEN: 4.36 -0.23%) and Lowes (LOW: 20.74 +1.27%) both dropped over 3% after negative comment’s on the Mad Money show.