Cramer's Lightning Round - Buy Ashland Anyway (3/16/09)

Stocks discussed on the lightning round session of Jim Cramer's Mad Money TV Program, Monday March 16.

Bullish Calls:

ISIS Pharmaceuticals (ISIS): "I like speculative biotech right here. Remember, there's been $193 billion in acquisitions in the last month in pharma, where many of them have been biotech. I think that ISIS is a good spec here. I'm a buyer!... Buy, buy, buy!"

Ashland (ASH): "I think it's a good spec at $4 bucks with infrastructure... they keep telling me is kicking in. Buy, buy, buy! Now look, I don't think the infrastructure is kicking in, but I've been browbeaten and cowed into believing that infrastructure is the greatest thing since sliced bread. So forgive me for being skeptical. I guess I've been overwhelmed by popular criticism."

Cypress Semiconductor (CY): "Travelers Insurance (TRV): If you are going to buy insurance, which I have not been recommending fortunately, I only recommend Traveler's Insurance…property and casualty, because of the balance sheet."

Bearish Calls:

Prudential (PRU): "I don't trust the bull rally. Don't buy, don't buy.This is a great company. It's a great company but…These stocks all need the market up dramatically, and that's the problem. They didn't hedge correctly for their annuities, so we've got to wait for the market to go up to feel more comfortable."

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