Activity continues to buzz in the private equity world. For example, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), it appears that IMS (NYSE: RX) is in advanced talks to take the company private. As a result, the shares of the company soared 22% in Monday's trading.

No doubt, a deal could fall apart. But, the fact remains that IMS has definitely attracted interest. Some of the suitors include: TPG, Silver Lake, and BC Partners. The deal could be worth as much as $3.5 billion.

IMS got its start in the mid 1950s when the founders -- Bill Frohlich (an advertising executive) and David Dubow -- saw an opportunity to build a unique information company for the pharma industry. The timing was perfect as the company quickly grew.

Analyst upgrades:

• Janney Montgomery upgraded Kenexa (NASDAQ: KNXA) and SuccessFactors (NASDAQ: SFSF) to Buy from Neutral on expectations corporate IT spending will accelerate in the second half of 2009. The firm raised its target on Kenexa to $14 from $8 and on SuccessFactors to $12 from $9.
• Jefferies upgraded PSS World Medical (NASDAQ: PSSI) to Buy from Hold to reflect the company's cost-cutting measures and efforts to gain market share. The firm raised its target on shares to $25 from $17.50.
• FBR Capital upgraded Sunpower (NASDAQ: SPWRA) to Outperform from Market Perform following the company's Q2 results to reflect increased business prospects in the "rooftop" segment of the market. FBR raised its target on shares to $40 from $22.
• Cooper Industries (NYSE: CBE) was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.
• Temple-Inland (NYSE: TIN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

Almost everyone these days has encountered cancer in one way or another. While the rate of cancer incidence has stabilized to declined since the early 1990s and, with newer and better treatments as well as early detection, cancer death rates have also declined, the war on cancer is still far from won.

It is no surprise, then, that a few days ago, IMS Health (NYSE: RX) -- a provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries -- said that cancer drugs sales will nearly double by the year 2012. Assuming a compound growth rate of 12-15% a year, sales will grow from $48 billion in 2008 to $80 billion by 2012.

The main contributors to growth, according to the study, are an increasing number of patients on chemotherapy, not just in major markets but in emerging markets, too, as well as longer treatment periods for growing numbers of patients. Also fueling growth are the increased use of targeted therapeutic agents, along with first-time innovations coming to the market. Expensive new biotechnology drugs, and the increasing use of combination therapies that contribute to the exploding cost of treatment will also fuel cancer drugs sales growth.

The overall pharmaceutical market grew at a 6.4% pace in 2007, meaning that with its double-digit growth rate, the cancer drug market -- today contributing 17% to global pharmaceutical sales -- will only represent a greater proportion and emphasis. Of course, there will be factors moderating growth, such as drugs losing exclusivity and financial constraints of payers.

Cancer-fighting drugs can reach the market twice as fast as the average medicine, and companies can charge as much as $50,000 for a single course of treatment. It is no surprise then that with more and more drugs coming off patent many pharma companies are turning their attention to cancer. But can it save them?

MOST NOTEWORTHY: IMS Health, Ford Horizon Rite Aid were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• IMS Health (NYSE: RX) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Baird on valuation.
  
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded First Horizon (NYSE: FHN) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation.
• UBS upgraded Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) to Buy from Neutral based on valuation and potential West Coast divestiture.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman.
  
• Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Bearn Stearns.
  
• Kenexa (NASDAQ: KNXA) was upgraded to Buy from Accumulate at ThinkEquity.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Clearwire, Citrix Systems, Altria Group, Overstock.com and Interpublic Group were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they believe the stock is trading as if the Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) deal is off. Jefferies thinks the Sprint/Clearwire deal is still in the best interest of both companies.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) to Buy from Hold, as they believe the contribution from XenSource beginning in Q4 could be better than expected.
  
• UBS upgraded shares of Altria Group (NYSE: MO) citing stronger Q3 International results and potential share repurchases. Shares were upgraded to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Piper Jaffray raised shares of Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) to Market Perform from Underperform, as they are incrementally more positive on shares following the company's Q3 upside. They believe the company has turned the corner on profitability.
  
• Bear Stearns upgraded shares of Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) to Outperform from Peer Perform on valuation and expectations for improved performance in 2008.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
  
• Friedman Billings raised its rating on IMS Health (NYSE: RX) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Stericycle (NASDAQ: SRCL) to Overweight from Neutral.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) to Hold from Sell.
  
• RadiSys Corporation (NASDAQ: RSYS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Cantor.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Occam Networks, Washington Mutual, Downey Financial and IMS Health were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Merriman downgraded shares of Occam Networks (NASDAQ: OCNW) to Neutral from Buy as they believe the company's restatement filing raised more questions than it answered and that the company's takeout value is shrinking.
  
• Friedman Billings downgraded Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) and Downey Financial Corporation (NYSE: DSL) to Underperform from Market Perform based on credit trends that are eroding faster than anticipated in the housing market.
  
• William Blair downgraded IMS Health (NYSE: RX) to Market Perform from Outperform following the lower than expected Q3 results to reflect deterioration in the company's market environment. Shares were also downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Knight Transportation (NYSE: KNX) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.
  
• B. Riley downgraded Hancock Holding (NASDAQ: HBHC) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to Sell from Hold and E-Trade Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) to Hold from Buy.