I recently came across a fast-growing energy concern named Midstates Petroleum (MPO). The shares go for just $6 and its growth prospects are intriguing. It also seems to be picking up some significant positive catalysts recently.

Here are several recent positives for Midstates:

• Analyst firm CK Cooper just initiated the shares as a "Buy" with an $11 price target, ~80% above the stock's current price. Its analyst noted: "The company estimates it has over 1,500 drilling locations on its Mississippi Lime and Anadarko Basin properties, the majority of which are MPO operated, providing it with ample running room in the Mid-Continent."
• Canaccord Genuity also initiated the shares as a "Buy" in late April.
• Consensus earnings estimates for FY 2013 have more than tripled over the last three months. FY 2014 consensus estimates have improved 80% over that time frame as well.
• In April, the company agreed to a

One of the most challenging things for income investors over the last year or two has been to find yield at reasonable valuations with acceptable risk given current Federal Reserve policies & programs. I have looked to the energy MLP space for a good portion of my income investments over the last few years. Most of these entities have had a fantastic run, but seem more than fairly priced here. There are exceptions if one is willing to look at some non-traditional businesses in MLP form such as a couple of refiners I highlighted the other day. Another interesting play here is Hi Crush Partners LP (HCLP) which is a producer of monocrystalline sand which is used in fracking. The company offers a 10% distribution yield, has good growth prospects, is cheap based on valuation and has picked up some recent positive catalysts.

Positive catalysts for HCLP:

• Consensus earnings

The market had a rare bout of volatility in Wednesday's trading. The Dow Jones rose more than 150 points early in the day only to reverse itself to post an ~80-point loss by the end of trading. It was the first time the Dow has been up over 150 points and ended the day down since March 2009. Investors learned yesterday how vulnerable the market is to any banter that the Federal Reserve could slowly withdraw their massive largesse. I expect a sizable pullback (5% to 10%) by the end of summer, but I don't see it happening in a one-day blow up like what happened overnight in Japan. There are myriad reasons for my skepticism about the market.

The S&P 500 is now ~12% over its 200-day moving average, extreme by historical standards. The index has gone from 1353 in mid-November to 1655 as of this morning

Wednesday's market was a roller coaster. After being up more than 150 points on the Dow early in the day, the market reversed and ended significantly down across the board. This is the first time this type of reversal has hit the market since March 2009 as investors seemed to wake up and realize how dependent the market is on continued massive Federal Reserve largesse.

I think it is too early to deploy major cash into the market as I think we have a significant pull back ahead. However, putting some cash into the market in small amounts on days like these makes some sense. Finding stocks that are performing better than the overall market appears to be a sound strategy. Here are two independent energy concerns that bucked the sell-off Wednesday on back of analysts' upgrades.

Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD): $143 a share, is a large (~$20B market capitalization)

M&A activity seems to be picking up recently. This week Yahoo (YHOO) picked up Tumblr for over $1B despite the fact the company had just ~$13mm worth of annual revenue at the time of acquisition. Data & web security firm Websense (WBSN) was also acquired for a little over $900mm by Vista Equity Partners on Tuesday which was just under a 30% premium to its current stock price prior to offer. Strengthening M&A activity makes logical sense here given low financing costs and the return of "animal spirits" into the market.

I particularly like the prospect of increased takeovers in the tech space given the huge amount of cash on the balance sheets of most of the large cap players in Technology. Two stocks that could make logical acquisition targets are profiled below. I am playing both by buying out of the money bull call spread positions.

It is getting harder and harder to find value in this levitating market. Multiples continue to expand on the back of an overly accommodative Federal Reserve, even as revenues for S&P companies came in slightly negative year over year during first-quarter earnings reports. Earnings grew just over 3% year over year as well. I ran a screen this morning to see what I could find as far as equities that still look as if they have good value here in this overbought market. My criteria to find these stocks were as follows: 1) under 12x earnings, 2) a five-year projected PEG of under one, 3) at least a 1.5% dividend yield, and 4) the highest rating "Strong Buy" from S&P. Only three names popped up using these criteria. Two already are in my portfolio. All three are profiled below.

Valero (VLO): The largest North American refiner has been in

Analysts at Sterne Agee recently issued a research report on the energy and industrials sectors. Two of their favorite energy names are also in my portfolio and are highlighted below.

Whiting Petroleum Corporation (WLL) is an independent energy concern producing oil and gas primarily in the Permian Basin, Rocky Mountains, Mid-Continent, Gulf Coast, and Michigan regions of the United States.

4 reasons WLL is a good growth pick up at just over $46 a share:

1. Analysts expect revenue to grow at a ~14% CAGR over the next two fiscal years. The stock sports a five year projected PEG of just over 1 (1.18).
2. Operating cash flow has grown at a ~20% annual rate over the last few years and the stock sells for around 4.5x operating cash flow.
3. The 32 analysts that cover the stock have a $60 price target on the shares. JP Morgan took its rating from

I last wrote about oil services firm Tidewater (TDW) when the shares were changing hands at $49. They now trade at $57 a share. The original article ran just after the company beat earnings estimates, so it seems appropriate to revisit Tidewater's growth story now that it has delivered another stellar earnings report.

Here are several positives from Tidewater's earnings report:

• Earnings per share came in 95 cents a share, an impressive 34 cents above consensus.
• Quarterly revenues were $328.3 million, more than $10 million over estimates.
• Operating margin increased to 17.8% from 16%.
• Average day rates on Tidewater's vessels rose 16% year over year.
• The company also recently announced it will purchase The Troms Offshore-owned fleet, which consists of five large, modern and technically advanced deepwater Platform Supply Vessels for $395 million. This will increase Tidewater's exposure to North Sea opportunities.
• The company also just approved

Goldman Sachs raised its price targets on the S&P 500 yesterday. The investment bank sees current central bank policies and a rotation from bonds to equities continuing to lift the market. The investment firm also continues to be positive on dividend paying stocks. Included in the note from Goldman Sachs were 10 of the bank's favorite dividend paying equities. Here are two of those "top 10" dividend payers that I like as well.

General Electric (GE): This huge multinational conglomerate pays a dividend of 3.2% and has raised its payout some ~90% since the end of the financial crisis. The company recently announced GE Capital will pay a $6.5 billion dividend payout to the parent as GE's finance arm continues to improve. With its recent moves to shed its media businesses for ~$17 billion to Comcast (CMCSA) and buying Lufkin Industries (LUFK) for ~$3.3 billion, GE now

Value in this market is getting harder to find by the day in this continuously rising market that has not had even a 4% decline since Mid-November. A couple of sectors that have underperformed in 2013, materials and energy, seem to be on the move in mid-day trading Monday. Silver and gold miners are generally up significantly today as are the refiners. Oil services firms also seem to be doing well in mid-day trading. One oil services firm that has vastly underperformed the S&P as well as its brethren Halliburton (HAL) and Schlumberger (SLB) over the last six months (see chart) is National Oilwell Varco (NOV). Given its valuation and some recent positive catalysts, it looks primed for a catch up move upward.

(click to enlarge)

Recent positives for NOV:

• The company just announced it is doubling its dividend. The shares will now yield ~1.5%
• Earlier this month in

Barclays came out today with a bold call on refiner Tesoro (TSO) stating it believes the company's valuation can nearly double to $120 a share. The core driver of upside is the smooth acquisition of BP Plc's (BP) refinery assets in California which was just granted regulatory approval. I first highlighted Tesoro back in June 2012 on the back of another key analyst upgrade. The shares traded for $22 a share at that time. They are now at just under $62 a share. Although not as bullish as Barclays, I still believe the shares have significant upside as they have attracted other catalysts.

Other positive catalysts for Tesoro:

• Credit Suisse recently named Tesoro and Marathon Petroleum (MPC) as its two most undervalued stocks in the refinery sector. It also lifted its price target on TSO from $70 to $74 in Mid-May.
• The company recently reported quarterly

Despite concerns about worldwide growth, flat revenues from the S&P this quarter and a myriad of other worries, the market continues to rally on the back of the continued largesse from the Federal Reserve. I am finding less and less value in this market especially in defensive sectors (Utilities & Consumer Staples) that has such significant rallies through the first four months of the year.

Most of the value I do find while researching possible trades are in the Energy & Technology sectors. Embracing the current "Risk On" sentiment within the market currently, here are two speculative $7 stocks from the energy patch that should do well if the rally spreads to sectors that have underperformed the overall market so far in 2013.

Willbros Group (WG) provides engineering, procurement, and construction services to the oil and gas, refinery, petrochemical, and electric power industries primarily in the United States and Canada.

On Mad Money on Thursday night, Jim Cramer highlighted two of his favorite energy MLPs which he stated could be a good antidote for possible "froth" in the market. These two plays are summarized below and could be solid pickups for investors looking for long term income plays. They also should be able to continue to ride the huge energy boom that is quickly moving the United States toward energy independence.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD) provides midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, refined products, and petrochemicals in the United States and internationally. The company operates ~16,700 miles of natural gas liquid pipelines; NGL and related product terminal and storage facilities with approximately 159.1 million barrels of net usable storage capacity (MMBbls); and 14 NGL fractionation plants. The company's Onshore Natural Gas Pipelines & Services segment operates approximately 19,900

First-quarter revenues of S&P companies that have reported so far are running flat/slightly negative vs. the same quarter of 2012. One area that is still showing robust sales increases is the small and mid-cap domestic E&P space. One of the key reasons I am very positive on the prospects for this sector is that it offers significant growth potential at more than reasonable valuations. Here are two of my favorites picks in the E&P space.

Oasis Petroleum (OAS) is an independent exploration and production company that engages in the acquisition and development of oil and natural gas resources in the Montana and North Dakota regions of the Williston Basin.

Here are four reasons why OAS is a good growth pick at $38 a share:

1. The company is projected to have over 50% revenue growth this year and more than 25% sales increases in FY 2013. The stock sports a

Yield continues to get harder to find at a reasonable price. Both the seven month old rally and the massive liquidity pumped into the market by the Fed have left many of the traditional avenues to high yield (bonds, utilities, consumer staples) looking stretched from a valuation perspective and providing yield at a much lower level than historical norms. An income investor must look to other sectors that are not usually associated with high dividends in order to attain yield at reasonable valuations. Here are two 4% plus yielders that I have in my own portfolio that look solid both on a yield and valuation perspective.

Cypress Semiconductor (CY) - Cypress Semiconductor Corporation designs and manufactures mixed-signal, programmable solutions, specialized semiconductor memories and integrated semiconductor solutions.

Four reasons CY is a good value/income play at $11 a share:

1. The stock yields 4.1% and the company raised its payout more than

Back at the end of October I penned a piece titled "Apple Versus Microsoft: The Tide Is Turning." The article postulated that Microsoft's long underperformance versus Apple could well be coming to an end. At the time Apple (AAPL) was selling at ~$600 a share and Microsoft (MSFT) was going for ~$28.50 a share. The performance of two tech giants could not be more different since that piece appeared (see chart).

(click to enlarge)

Apple had been in a consistent decline mode until recently. Its announcement in mid-April that it would increase its stock repurchase program by a record $50B and would also raise its dividend by some 15% arrested its sell-off. The news that Apple will be returning ~$100B to shareholders by 2015 provided the biggest two-week boost to the stock since 2009. However, the stock has pulled back over the last couple of trading sessions even

Long time readers of my columns know that I have been a big bull on Cisco Systems (CSCO) for quite some time. The networking giant disclosed after the bell an earnings report that confirmed my optimism. It's three plus percent yield and growing dividend payout is the primary reason it is a core holding in my income portfolio. These results should prove to be an inflection point to move the stock significantly higher.

Key highlights from Cisco's earnings report:

• Earnings came in at 51 cents a share, two cents above consensus estimates.
• Revenues also exceeded consensus by some $20mm.
• Data center growth was particularly impressive clocking in with more than 70% sales increases.
• Emerging markets grew some 13% Y/Y.
• Even public sector growth came in with positive growth of 5% despite worries about "sequester" cuts.
• Cisco's CEO John Chambers also stated that the U.S. economy is slowly

The market added to its gains over the last seven months on Tuesday, with the indices up ~1% across the board. The market's rise has been impressive given the economy continues to be stuck around at the 2.1% average quarterly GDP growth we've averaged since it bottomed in early 2009 (the average growth out of the last nine recessions over a comparable time frame is 4.4%), Europe is in a continuous contraction (the longest in eurozone history), and domestic job growth remains sluggish. Even China is not having as robust growth as it has in the past. In addition, revenues were basically flat year over year in the first quarter for S&P companies reporting. Although housing is recovering and auto production is getting close to precrisis levels, the main driver of the rally both in the markets and in real estate is massive easing efforts of the Federal Reserve.

Insider buying is down markedly from the levels of this time in 2012. This is a natural consequence of the market being much higher after a significant rally. Insider selling has also picked up as officers take advantage of the rise in their vested shares and ring the cash register. This makes the few insider buys more relevant when they do occur in my opinion. I recently noticed insider buying in two $6 energy concerns, one of which is already in my portfolio.

Key Energy Services (KEG) operates as an onshore rig-based well servicing contractor in the United States and internationally. The company offers rig-based services, including the maintenance, workover, and recompletion of existing oil and gas wells; completion of newly-drilled wells; and plugging and abandonment of wells at the end of their lives.

4 reasons KEG has upside from just over $6 a share:

1. Several insiders have bought

Macy's (M), the iconic American retailer, recently hit an all-time high. The company has benefited greatly from the troubles at J.C. Penney (JCP). However, even at recent highs the shares still sport a reasonable valuation. The company has also picked up some recent positive catalysts and the shares are still a buy before earnings tomorrow.

Some recent catalysts for Macy's:

• Deutsche Bank came out yesterday reiterating its "Buy" rating and raised its price target from $47 to $53 a share.
• TheStreet also reiterated its "Buy" rating in late April.
• Maxim Group initiated the shares as a "Buy" in February.
• The move to tax internet retailers that recently passed the Senate should help Macy's be more price competitive on the margin.
• Consensus earnings estimates for both FY2013 and FY2014 have ticked up over the last three months.

4 additional reasons M still looks good at under $47