These days, analyst research doesn't hold the same respect with clients, and without the IPO activity to at least provide some value, the relationship between sell-side departments (analyst teams at investment banks) and buy-side firms (the hedge funds and mutual funds that serve as clients) is even further frayed.

The timing is unfortunate. A number of investment banks have just been getting back on their feet in recent quarters, and analysts will likely need to start lowering their profit forecasts if the IPO market remains depressed. For the big banks like Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) or JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM), investment banking fees and research trading commissions are only a small part of their overall business. But for smaller firms such as Jefferies (NYSE: JEF), Stifel Financial (NYSE: SF), Oppenheimer (NYSE: OPY) and Raymond James (NYSE: RJF), investors may need to brace for weaker-than-expected results.

Good News for Buyers

Companies that are pushed away from the IPO gate can stay away only so long. Many times they are funded with the notion that their original investors will soon be able to recoup their investment. And if these backers, such as venture capital (VCs) firms, are on the hook to keep these companies going, they may look for alternatives. When this has happened in the past, these VCs have reached out to private equity firms like KKR Financial (NYSE: KFN) or the Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) to take the private companies off of their hands.

But if these stalled IPOs are in the high-tech field, then the cash-rich large public players also field phone calls. In past cycles, when the IPO market was closed, Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), EMC (NYSE: EMC) and others have pounced on small private names, often at fire-sale prices.

Action to Take --> There is so much to like about tech stocks like these right now. Many have very strong balance sheets, which can be used to buy back stock while the market is slumping, or used to acquire these almost-IPOs. Moreover, tech spending is now solidly rising, if recent earnings reports are any indication. I am a big fan of Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL), thanks to its balance sheet-led downside support, but all of the above-noted tech names hold appeal. Conversely, look to trim positions in investment banks if the IPO market doesn't re-open before the next earnings season in July.