UPDATE: DA Davidson Upgrades Herbalife Back to Buy, Concerns Alleviated

In a report published Friday, DA Davidson analyst Timothy S. Ramey upgraded Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $38 to $78.

In the report, DA Davidson wrote, "Earlier this week we downgraded shares of Herbalife to Neutral from Buy, concerned that the withdrawal of KPMG's audit opinions for the past three years could have material negative impacts on the shares. After our action, the company made assurances that they did not see the risk of a delisting notice from the NYSE, nor do they believe they are, or expect they may be, in violation of their loan covenants. We are relieved to have these assurances. It's unfortunate they could not have provided such assurances to us earlier in the day when we asked these questions. Chalk it up to the heat of battle. These are unique circumstances. The other concerns we had on the downgrade have been addressed and are discussed more fully on page three, herein."

Shares of Herbalife are currently trading down 0.73 percent from Thursday's $38.28 closing price.