UPDATE: Bank of America Reinstates Coverage of Medtronic

In a note issued Thursday morning, Bank of America analyst, Bob Hopkins reinstated coverage of Medtronic, Inc.

with a Buy rating and a $75 price objective. Hopkins explained the reason driving the Buy rating is Medtronic's proposed acquisition of Covidien plc

, which he expects to close with in the next three to four months and is modeling a January 1st close date. Hopkins wrote, "Based on our estimates, the proposed deal for COV would be accretive to earnings within a year of completion, should allow MDT to drive double-digit EPS growth for the next several years, would lower MDT's risk profile, better positions the company to win in the new HC environment and would give MDT greater financial flexibility by providing them access to COV's global cash."