Tech Winners & Losers: Qwest

Tech stocks rallied Friday along with the major market indices following a dip in crude oil prices and a strong showing by telecom stocks. The Nasdaq index was up more than 55 points in late trading.

Shares of Qwest(Q Quote) rose 33 cents, or 9.6%, to $3.76. An analyst at Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight on the belief that its current valuation offered significant support for the stock. The return of cash to shareholders through an increase in dividend and the $1 billion stock buyback program should also help the company, analyst Simon Flannery said in a note.

Sprint Nextel(S Quote) added 67 cents, or 8.6%, to $8.46 after it cancelled a convertible preferred stock offering. Sprint had said Wednesday it would sell $3 billion in cumulative perpetual preferred stock and planned to use the proceeds for debt reduction, among other things. ...