Analyst Upgrades

• Red Hat (RHT) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Cogdell Spencer (CSA) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Micron (MU) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• El Paso Electric (EE) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• MICROS Systems (MCRS) and Harmony Gold (HMY) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Meridian Bioscience (VIVO) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Verso Paper (VRS) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Sony (SNE) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Noble Corp. (NE) and Baker Hughes (BHI) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Tyson Foods (TSN) and Smithfield Foods (SFD) to buy from hold at BB&T.

The meager IPO market has been tough for the private equity crowd. After all, this is a key way for them to make big returns for their investors.

But Thursday, a private-equity-backed firm -- Verso Paper (NYSE: VRS) – hit the public markets. The company priced 14 million shares at $12 each. Unfortunately, by the end of the trading day, the stock was at $10. The company originally wanted to issue 18.8 million shares at a price range of $16-$18.

Verso's private equity sponsor is Apollo Global Management LLC, which bought the company back in 2006.

The company is a major supplier of coated papers for catalog and magazine publishers. Some of the customers include Condé Nast Publications, National Geographic Society, Avon Products and Sears Holdings

However, with high energy prices and pesky inflation, Verso's industry has come under much pressure. As a result, there have been a variety of mill closings from the competition, which should ultimately help the survivors. What's more, Verso has built a low-cost structure.

But as seen with Verso's stock performance Thursday, it's not a story Wall Street is interested in right now.

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.