Controversial nutritional supplements maker Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) beat Wall Street expectations with its second quarter earnings after the close Wednesday, sending shares skyrocketing as much as 20% on Thursday. Herbalife shares closed at $57.64 on Thursday, up $8.54 (17.39%) with more than five times the usual volume of shares changing hands. Details on Herbalife second quarter earnings The global leader in sales of meal replacement shakes, protein bars, vitamins and other products reported on Wednesday that it had second quarter earnings of $82.8 million, or 97 cents a share. Of note, that figure was less than the $119.5 million, or $1.31 a share, that the firm earned in the same period last year. Moreover, net sales were off by 11% to $1.16 billion from $1.3 billion. Herbalife's earnings have slipped over the last... More