Key Takeaways
- Nokia stock jumped approximately 6% Friday, building on a 113% year-to-date rally
- First-quarter net sales increased 4% year-over-year, AI and cloud client revenue surged 49%
- Arete Research raised NOK to buy from neutral; Morgan Stanley maintains overweight stance
- Company to transfer Fixed Wireless Access operations to Inseego while keeping equity position
- Jim Cramer praised Nokia as “a winner” and applauded its technological resurgence
Nokia (NOK) stock experienced a significant rally Friday, advancing close to 6% to reach approximately $13.65, driven by impressive first-quarter performance, favorable analyst actions, and artificial intelligence tailwinds.
The Friday surge adds to an extraordinary performance streak. Shares have skyrocketed more than 113% since the beginning of the year and climbed over 155% across the trailing twelve months.
Trading activity reflected heightened investor interest. Approximately 68.96 million shares traded hands Friday, exceeding the three-month average daily volume of about 65.97 million.
Nokia’s first-quarter financial results provided substantial momentum for investors. Total net sales expanded 4% on a year-over-year basis, with the Optical Networks segment delivering exceptional 20% growth.
The headline figure came from AI and cloud customer revenue, which exploded 49% higher. Company leadership attributed this surge to accelerating capital deployment from hyperscale providers and expanding enterprise artificial intelligence applications.
Nokia has also disclosed approximately €1 billion in AI-related order bookings, which continues to strengthen the investment thesis among Wall Street analysts tracking the telecommunications equipment manufacturer.
Wall Street Upgrades Provide Additional Momentum
Arete Research elevated Nokia from a neutral stance to buy Thursday, propelling shares 3.6% higher that session to an intraday peak of $12.92. Trading volume spiked 122% above typical levels following the upgrade announcement.
Morgan Stanley reaffirmed its overweight recommendation earlier during the week. Nordea Equity Research similarly boosted the stock to buy on April 24th.
Collectively, twelve analysts currently maintain buy ratings on Nokia, complemented by four hold recommendations and two sell ratings. The consensus lands at Moderate Buy, although the average analyst price target of $9.71 trails significantly behind current trading levels.
Citigroup stands as the prominent exception, preserving its sell rating originally issued in January.
Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the Inseego Transaction
Nokia finalized an agreement to divest its Fixed Wireless Access CPE operations to Inseego. Under the transaction terms, Nokia will acquire an ownership stake in Inseego, and both organizations will collaborate on 6G development, wireless edge computing solutions, and AI-powered connectivity platforms.
Inseego conducted an investor conference call this week outlining the acquisition details, offering stakeholders additional clarity on the partnership framework and strategic roadmap.
The transaction enables Nokia to exit a lower-margin hardware category while maintaining economic participation in the FWA sector through its Inseego equity holding.
Jim Cramer offered his perspective Friday, labeling Nokia “a winner” during his broadcast. He remarked, “I gotta hand it to those guys for sticking around because, wow, I think it’s got a lot of good technology.”
Nokia additionally announced an increase to its quarterly dividend, raising the payout to $0.0468 from $0.04, translating to an annualized yield near 1.5%. Shareholders of record as of April 28th will receive the dividend on May 12th.
One consideration investors should monitor: the trailing price-to-earnings multiple hovers around 80, creating vulnerability should the company stumble on operational execution or earnings delivery. Wall Street projects full-year earnings per share of $0.41.
Nokia’s market capitalization currently stands at roughly $74 billion. The 50-day moving average registers at $8.83 while the 200-day sits at $7.32, both substantially beneath the present share price.
