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.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company (KKR) is preparing for an initial public offering next week, and if you are smart, you will steer clear.

After a three-year struggle to make this IPO a reality, company founders Henry R. Kravis and George R. Roberts -- who each own 13% of the company -- are excited to see their shares actually start trading on July 15 on the NYSE. After all, they each stand to make nearly $800 million on the venture.

Individual investors, on the other hand, should avoid this IPO. Here's why.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Transocean (RIG) to outperform from market perform as it believes congressional hearings and reports indicate the company's blowout preventer at the Deepwater Horizon likely worked properly. The firm has an $87 price target for shares.
• Auriga upgraded First Solar (FSLR) to buy from hold as it believes the recent sell-off in shares as created an attractive entry point. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target for shares to $138 from $147.
• Soleil upgraded Priceline.com (PCLN) to buy from hold, citing a favorable risk-reward profile. Despite the upgrade, the firm lowered its target for shares to $230 from $250.
• Blackrock (BLK) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Abbott (ABT) was upgraded to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Exxon Mobil (XOM) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.

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.

For a mega private equity firm like Blackstone (BX), there's a need to get liquidity on a mega scale. So this week, the firm prepared for one of its holdings, Travelport, to go public. The deal could be worth as much as $3 billion.

Blackstone will float the deal on the London Stock Exchange. There will also be the issuance of 7.2% of the stock to Government of Singapore Investment Corp. (for about $225 million).

The Blackstone Group (BX) is one of the world's largest private equity real estate investors, with a global portfolio of $23.7 billion. The firm also has extensive hotel holdings. Some of the brands include Hilton, La Quinta, Waldorf-Astoria, Boca Raton Resort & Club and the Trianon Palace Versailles.

In fact, as financing warms up -- and valuations remain attractive -- Blackstone is starting the year by boosting its holdings. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), the firm is angling to control Highland Hospitality. This was done by making a clever purchase of outstanding debt from Wachovia.

While there was an uptick in the IPO market during the past couple months, it looks like things are cooling down. It seems that investors are holding off from riskier investments until next year.

Unfortunately, this is not good news for Team Health Holdings (TMH), which launched its IPO Wednesday. The company planned to issue 20 million shares at a range of $14 to $16. Instead, Team Health was only able to fetch $12 each for 13.3 million shares. The stock price was up 43 cents in morning trading.

Controlled by the Blackstone Group (BX), Pinnacle Foods is a packaged foods company whose brands can be found in about 80% of the households in the U.S. The portfolio includes Duncan Hines baking mixes and frostings, Vlasic pickles and Swanson frozen dinners.

Well, Pinnacle will get even bigger; that is, the company -- along with the financing from Blackstone -- will purchase Birds Eye Foods for roughly $1.3 billion. There will also be debt financing from Barclays Capital (BCS), Credit Suisse (CS), BofA Merrill Lynch (BAC), HSBC and Macquarie Capital.

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

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) lower Q3 results still topped expectations and sent shares higher.
• Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) posted much better-than-expected Q4 earnings, the first profit in a year.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) received an analyst's downgrade due to concerns over its earnings prospects.
• Blackstone Group (BX) received an analyst's upgrade following the company's Q3 results.
• Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) widened its net loss in Q3 and revenue and same-stores sales declined.
• Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE) shares declined after its Q3 numbers fell short of expectations.
• Consolidated Water Co. Inc. (CWCO) earnings prospects for 2010 earned it an analyst upgrade.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Blackstone Group (BX) to outperform from market perform following the company's Q3 results and maintains an $18.50 price target on shares.
• Baird upgraded Astec (ASTE) to outperform from neutral citing relative valuation and upside from new multi-year U.S. highway funding legislation. The firm raised its target to $33 from $27.
• Goldman upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to conviction buy from neutral citing "significant" long-term growth drivers that include international growth. The firm raised its target to $45 from $36.
• Ariad Pharmaceuticals (ARIA) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Energizer (ENR) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) was upgraded to buy from hold at RBS.

Over the past decade we seen at least $1 trillion dollars spent by private equity firms. These firms have taken over companies for a pittance and then pillaged them by slashing employees and cutting costs. They then used the money to pay down debt rather than rebuilding the company.

Now all of the debt thrown on the acquired companies is coming due and it could cause another economic disaster, even bring down the economy.

Up until the credit crisis, private equity firms had it made. They had plenty of leverage to play with and could load up their acquisition targets with it. So, they could realize a fantastic return on equity, mitigate their own risks, and show that they were the studs of the Street.

Then, all that went away. Credit markets dried up, and private equity companies lost their acquisition fuel. The numbers aren't as big as they used to be, but it looks like the private equity market is back in action.