Analyst Upgrades

• Goodrich (GR) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Ford (F) to neutral from underperform and CenterPoint Energy (CNP) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Dollar Financial (DLLR) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Alterra Capital (ALTE) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) and P.F. Chang's (PFCB) to buy from neutral, as well as SunTrust (STI) to neutral from sell, at Janney Capital.
• Arch Capital (ACGL), Axis Capital (AXS), PartnerRe (PRE), Everest Re (RE) and Transatlantic (TRH) to buy from hold, as well as W. R. Berkley (WRB) to hold from sell, at Citigroup.
• Optimer Pharm (OPTR) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst Upgrades

• State Street (STT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Roth Capital upgraded Intel (INTC), Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Nvidia (NVDA) to buy from neutral.
• Bebe Stores (BEBE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• W&T Offshore (WTI) was upgraded to buy from accumulate at Global Hunter.
• Citigroup upgraded International Rectifier (IRF) and Timberland (TBL) to hold from sell.
• Watson Pharma (WPI) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Atmel (ATML) was upgraded to strong buy from buy at Needham.
• Ashford Hospitality (AHT) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Oppenheimer upgraded MetroPCS (PCS) to outperform from perform.

Analyst Upgrades

• BMO Capital upgraded Concho (CXO) to outperform from market perform and has a $73 price target on the stock. The firm cites valuation and sustainable growth for the upgrade.
• Sterne Agee upgraded City Holding (CHCO) to buy from neutral based on valuation. The firm has a $34 target on the stock.
• UBS upgraded Werner Enterprises (WERN) to neutral from sell based on valuation. The firm raised its price target to $21.50 from $21.
• Nvidia (NVDA) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Colfax (CFX) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Camden Property (CPT) was upgraded to top pick from outperform at RBC Capital.

Yesterday, I met with a couple deal attorneys and we talked about IPOs. I learned that that they are currently working on an offering. Of course, the company is in the energy sector.

While the IPO market should remain listless, there are still a few sectors that are hot. Look at Colfax (NYSE: CFX), which launched its IPO today. The company priced its offering at $18 per share (the price range was $15-$17). So far in today's trading, Colfax shares are trading up 22% to $22.08.

Basically, Colfax is a major supplier of fluid handling products, such as pumps, fluid handling systems and specialty valves. The main customer groups include power generation, global navy, commercial marine and yes, oil & gas. Some of the brands include Allweiler, Fairmount, Houttuin, Imo, LSC, Portland Valve, Tushaco, Warren and Zenith. In fact, the Allweiler brand goes back to 1860.

Actually, the marketplace is highly fragmented, with more than 10,000 companies. So, with the IPO proceeds and public stock, Colfax is positioned for M&A deals (the company has already purchased 12 companies).

And the financials look pretty good. Last year, Colfax's revenues jumped 29% to $506.3 million and net income came to $64.9 million.

The lead underwriter on the deal is Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER). Also, you can find the prospectus at the SEC website.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.