(By Balachander) A number of stocks were upgraded and downgraded by equities research analysts on Friday.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT): Deutsche Bank downgraded rating on the stock to "hold" from "buy". Shares slid 0.39 percent to trade at $33.14.
Acme Packet Inc. (NASDAQ: APKT): Stifel Nicolaus upgraded rating on the stock to "buy" from "hold". Shares jumped 11.13 percent to trade at $23.76.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT): Argus downgraded rating on the stock to "hold" from "buy". Shares lost 1.30 percent to trade at $26.90.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM): Goldman Sachs downgraded rating on the stock to "buy" from "conviction buy". Shares traded 0.67 percent higher at $44.87.
Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT): Credit Suisse upgraded rating on the stock to "outperform" from "neutral". Shares added 1.71 percent to trade at $26.13.
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC): Goldman Sachs downgraded rating on the stock to "neutral" from "buy". Shares shed 0.46 percent to trade at $34.60.