Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Needham upgraded investment bank Houlihan Lokey Inc. to "buy" from "neutral."

In upgrading the stock, Needham wrote that the risk/reward is attractive considering Houlihan Lokey has the largest restructuring business in the industry. He also thinks that its shares have been too battered on fears that the M&A cycle is ending.

Houlihan Lokey has a strong balance sheet and its corporate finance business is seeing healthy trends in its growth, according to the analyst.

The investment bank's price objective was increased to $47 from $46.