UPDATE: Wunderlich Securities Upgrades WhiteHorse Finance As Exemptive Relief Could Be Transformational

In a report published Monday, Wunderlich Securities analyst Merrill Ross upgraded the rating on WhiteHorse Finance WHF from Hold to Buy, and reiterated the $15.50 price target. In the report, Wunderlich Securities noted, “Whitehorse Finance, Inc. (WHF) requested and received exemptive relief to co-invest with funds managed by H.I.G. Capital, its external sponsor. We believe this will facilitate deployment of capital, which could restore earnings power lost when a single large debt position that represented ~27% of earning assets unexpectedly prepaid during 3Q13. "We expect the pace of investment activity to pick up markedly, as WHF can now more fully lever the resources of its external sponsor. We are raising our 2014E and launching a 2015E with this report. Our $15.50 target is in-line with forward NAV, and could prove conservative if total value creation exceeds our current expectations. We are upgrading the shares from Hold to Buy on renewed optimism regarding the pace of capital deployment.” WhiteHorse Finance closed on Friday at $13.99.