So far this year, the IPO market has gotten off to a good start. Just look at Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD), which develops human resources software. Last week, the company's public offering gained nearly 50% on its first day of trading.

Although, one of the most anticipated IPOs is LinkedIn. In fact, through some of its SEC filings, it looks like the company is poised for a strong debut.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is one the largest and most diversified banks in the U.S. and offers services such as retail banking, commercial banking, asset management, investment banking, consumer lending and credit cards. Its main competitors include Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Deutsche Bank (DB) and Morgan Stanley (MS).

We have a price estimate of $48.87 for JPMorgan's stock, roughly 5% above the current market price.

Only a year ago, the belief was that the private equity world was doomed. But as is common in the financial markets, this was big exaggeration. If anything, private equity firms have shown that they can adapt quite well.

Just look at KKR (KKR). In its latest quarter, the company posted a profit of $180.6 million or $0.86 per share. The consensus estimate was for $0.42 per share.

But private equity firms like to point to another metric: economic net income, which focuses on fees and gains from investments. This came to $714.6 million in the quarter. Yes, the private equity game can be wildly profitable.

For investors, online music operators have been extremely risky. Of course, the main problem has been the lawsuits over copyright infringement. As a result, there have been no IPOs in the online music sector since 2002. That was when Napster went bust.

But over the past couple of years, the environment has been getting better. Just look at Pandora, which is an Internet-radio company. It has filed for a $100 million IPO.

Investors certainly wanted a piece of the Epocrates (EPOC) IPO this week. The deal had a range of $13 to $15 but the company was able to price the offering at $16. Then in its first day of trading, the stock soared 37%. In all, the company raised $85.76 million.

Why all the excitement? Well, Epocrates is a leader in providing mobile solutions for medical information and records. They are available on the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows platforms.

For private equity firms, there was much anticipation of the Nielsen (NLSN) IPO. These funds spent huge amounts from 2002 to 2007 on buyouts and they want to get some liquidity, as well as pay down debt.

Well, based on today's trading, private equity firms should definitely be optimistic. Nielsen priced its IPO at $23, which was above its $20 to $22 price range (raising about $1.9 billion). The stock is now up to $25. In fact, this is the biggest private-equity IPO since 2006.

As equity markets return and investors warm up to the risk trade, it looks like IPOs are poised for a strong 2011, especially in the tech sector. For example, according to a New York Times report, it looks like Groupon is in the process of talking to various Wall Street bankers to prep for a public offering.

Founded just a couple years ago, the company has grown like a weed. The website provides daily deals, which are at steep discounts. But Groupon actually gets half of the cut. Yes, it's a lucrative business as revenues reached $1 billion last year. Already Groupon is in 35 countries.

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.

Since the dot-com boom in the late 1990s, the U.S. IPO market has been fairly lackluster. True, there were some notable deals, such as for Google (GOOG). But they were not enough to spark a bull run.

But in 2010, things started to change. Finally, it looks like IPO investors have a new trend emerging -- that is, for Chinese offerings. According to the Wall Street Journal (a paid publication), there were 38 such offerings. The total amount raised came to a tidy $4 billion.

Moody's gave a warning to Spain and the Greeks rioted again. CPI showed tame inflation and industrial capacity was close to two-year highs. We also had at least four IPOs and the Senate passed the Bush tax-cut extension for two years. The markets looked set for a rally but the end of day trading again failed to materialize into a win for the bulls. Here were today's closing bell levels:

DJIA: 11,457.47, -19.07 (0.17%)
S&P 500: 1.235.23, -6.36 (0.51%)
NASDAQ: 2,617.22, -10.50 (0.40%)

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

Back in late 2005, the Carlyle Group took SS&C Technologies (SSNC) private in a $941 million transaction. Since then, the company has continued to bulk-up with acquisitions.

And now, SS&C has come back to the public markets. The company has issued 10.7 million shares at $15 each, which was at the top of its $13 to $15 price range.

Citigroup's (C) spinoff of Primerica is set for this week. The company consists independent life insurance and sales reps. Primerica is going on the block so Citigroup can lower its debt and simplify its operations.

Previous sales by the bank include its commodities trading group, some credit card business and its Japanese brokerage. Primerica hopes to raise $234 million in the initial public offering, with 18 million shares being sent out to the world with a hopeful price of $12 to $14 each.

For the past couple years, telecom equipment maker Calix Networks (CALX) has operated as if it were a public company. The company has had quarterly conference calls and provides its investors with SEC-quality reports.

And the preparation should payoff: this week Calix pulled off a public offering. The company issued 6.3 million shares at $13 each, which was at the top of its proposed $11 to $13 range. The underwriters included Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS).

IronPlanet, which operates an online marketplace for used construction and agricultural equipment, has been growing nicely over the past year. Revenues spiked 56% to $54.7 million and profits went from $1.9 million to $12.9 million.

Now, IronPlanet is taking things to the next level -- that is, filing for an IPO. The company expects to raise $92 million.