Analyst Upgrades

• General Growth (GGP) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• PPL Corp. (PPL) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• Hologic (HOLX) to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Cognex (CGNX) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Buckeye Partners (BPL) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Ericsson (ERIC) and Health Care REIT (HCN) to buy from neutral and Olin (OLN) to neutral from sell at UBS.
• Nalco (NLC) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Watts Water (WTS) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• McDermott (MDR) to buy from neutral at Pritchard.

When will the real estate market make a comeback? Well, it seems that the Blackstone Group (BX) thinks it is already happening. The firm has won a bid for 588 U.S. shopping malls. The price tag? A cool $9.4 billion. In fact, the auction was heated, involving other top real estate investors like Starwood Capital.

The seller is Centro, which is based in Australia. The company has been trying to pare down its debt load since the financial crisis hit in 2008. After the sale of the assets, Centro will be left with 112 malls.

Because of the complexities of its business, it can be difficult to decipher whether the Blackstone Group (BX) has posted a profit. In its latest earnings report, there was a net loss of $11 million, or $0.03 per share, up from a loss of $143.3 million in the same period a year ago.

But private equity firms highlight another metric: economic net income. It's supposed to be a better reflection of the earnings. According to this, Blackstone saw a 46% rise to $0.29 per share in profits.

As the economy rebounds and credit markets warm up again, it looks like private equity firms are going back to work -- on big deals. According to Bloomberg.com, Apollo Global Management is prepared to offer $12 billion for Sara Lee (SLE). The transaction would also include investor C. Dean Metropoulos -- who bought Pabst Brewing in 2010 -- as well as Bain Capital and TPG.

It looks like this is a viable offer even though a strategic buyer is interested (which often can justify a higher valuation). This is JBS SA, a beef processor based in Brazil. An acquisition would certainly have lots of synergy, creating a vertical operation. Interestingly enough, JBS may seek the help of the Blackstone Group (BX).

Since early September, shares of the major private equity firms Blackstone Group (BX) and KKR & Co. (KKR) have seen strong gains. Of course, part of the reason has been the bull move. But at the same time, the prospects for private equity are looking brighter. In fact, the upcoming year is shaping up to be strong for public offerings.

According to a report from Bloomberg.com, it looks like private-equity backed deals will account for roughly half the volume. And they will generally be massive transactions. Some that are on deck include HCA Holdings, Nielsen Holdings and Kinder Morgan.

Analyst upgrades:

• Bernstein upgraded Hospira (HSP) to Outperform from market Perform based on valuation, expectations that the company will be able to fix manufacturing issues quickly, and views Propolfol and biosimilars as underappreciated. The firm has a $63 price target on the stock.
• Citigroup upgraded eBay (EBAY) to Buy from Hold citing valuation and improvements to Marketplace. The firm keeps a $28 price target for shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Coca-Cola Femsa (KOF) to Hold from Sell citing lessening acquisition risk and raised its target for shares to $66 from $61.
• Blackstone (BX) and Simon Property (SPG) were upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
• BreitBurn Energy (BBEP) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
• SL Green Realty (SLG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst Upgrades

• Berstein upgraded Diamond Offshore (DO) to market perform from underperform based on valuation. The firm has a $69 price target on the stock.
• Jefferies upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) to buy from hold, citing leverage to higher land rig pricing. The firm raised its price target to $21 from $17.
• Wunderlich upgraded Renasant (RNST) to buy from hold following the company's acquisition of Crescent Bank. The firm raised its target for shares to $20 from $15.
• AT&T (T) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Blackstone (BX) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Scripps Networks (SNI) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

If you have been shying away from the Blackstone Group (BX) because its stock has fallen from a high above $17 in October 2009 to a low just above $9 earlier this month, you are not alone. However, it is time to take a second look at this private-equity firm gone public.

Blackstone, citing a rebound in the value of its real estate portfolio, surprised Wall Street today by beating analyst expectations by 2 cents per share. The consensus estimate had come in at 16 cents, and Blackstone posted earnings of 18 cents per share on $205 million in profit.

This may be the catalyst the stock needed to help it complete an inverted head-and-shoulders pattern on its chart and send it climbing higher.

As stocks continue to drift lower and lower, the risk/reward bias is starting to shift to the long side. Make no mistake, there are still tremendous risks in this market, but for risk-embracing, long-term investors it may be time to start wading back into equities.

If you want to bet on a second half rebound and are looking to get plenty of upside potential in return, the place to look is in the private-equity complex. In particular, Fortress Investment Group (FIG), The Blackstone Group (BX) and Apollo Investment Corp. (AINV) will give you plenty of bang for your buck if the current downtrend reverses itself.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded T. Rowe Price (TROW) to overweight from neutral while downgrading Janus Capital (JNS) to underweight from neutral to reflect valuations and fundamentals. The firm has a $67 price target for T. Rowe Price shares.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Lincoln Electric (LECO) to overweight from neutral as it believes the rebound in global manufacturing is accelerating. The firm has a $70 price target on the stock.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Highwoods Properties (HIW) to market perform from underperform, citing valuation and a strong balance sheet.
• Corning (GLW) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Allergan (AGN) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Mohawk (MHK) was upgraded to buy from neutral at SunTrust.

Blackstone Group (BX), the publicly traded private equity firm, has high hopes for India's growth prospects. After announcing a $50 million stake in India-based media company Jagran Media Network, Blackstone revealed that it plans to invnest as much as $3 billion in the emerging market over the next five years.

"We are bullish on India," said Akhil Gupta, chairman and managing director of Blackstone India, during a telephone interview with Reuters. "We just invested nearly $1 billion in India during the last five years and we believe it could be two to three times [that amount] over the next five years."

If you're looking to buy into an upswing post-recession, it doesn't look like the private equity market will be on your list. Valuations didn't fall as much as you might think, meaning that the bargains you usually find during a downturn just aren't showing up this time.

In the leveraged buyout market, prices were around 25% higher, on average, than they were in 2001, when the dotcom economy fell apart, according to Standard & Poor's Leveraged Commentary & Data. And transactions closed in the past three months have hit heir highest levels since the private equity market peaked in 2007.

Says Christopher O'Brien, president for U.S. and Europe of Investcorp Bank BSC, another "golden era" isn't coming. He tells Bloomberg News, "There's a lot of pressure to put investors' money to work now, and valuations are still high. It's a seller's market."

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• American Public Education Inc. (APEI) received an analyst upgrade following the Q4 report and guidance.
• Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) traded higher after it reported swinging to a profit in Q4, but revenue declined year over year.
• Blackstone Group (BX) reported adjusted Q4 earnings, compared to a year-ago loss, and postive renvenue too.
• Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) higher Q2 earnings beat estimates, but shares fell on so-so revenue results.
• DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (DWA) lower Q4 earnings beat expectations but net income for the full year rose.
• Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) topped analysts' Q4 earnings expectations but shares fell after it warned of lower margins.

For alternative asset managers, the financial results can be complex and volatile. Just look at the Blackstone Group's (BX) latest quarterly results. Revenues came to $725.3 million, which compares to negative revenues of $611.3 million in the same period a year ago. Adjusted earnings were $329.4 million, or $0.29 per share, which is up from a loss of $763.8 million, or $0.68 per share.

Of course, these results also reflect the brutal impact of the credit crunch.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) wanted a piece of what could be the most interesting insurance IPO of the year, but it won't get a taste.

American International Group's (AIG) Asian life insurance unit, American International Association, is going to go public in Hong Kong for an estimated $10 billion, and JPMorgan isn't being allowed to play, insiders say, because of a sour relationship that stretches back to the September 2008 financial crisis. As a result, it will be the only major investment bank not being admitted to the party.