Some serious due diligence on Diamond Foods, including accouting audits and visits with the farmers who supply inventory, was released in a report from KeyBanc CapitalMarkets, prompting the stock to surge on Friday.
"Our price target is $76 over the next year. Even with the pop on the stock today, we think there is tremendous upside," said Akshay Jagdale, packaged foods analyst with Keybanc Capital Markets.
This sudden upside is based on news that the company's internal accounting probe, which began late September, has checked out okay, and thus, their planned deal to buy Proctor & Gamble'sPringlespotato chips is likely to go through.