Key Takeaways
- NOK shares advanced approximately 6% Friday, building on a 113% gain year-to-date
- 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 reached agreement to move Fixed Wireless Access operations to Inseego while keeping equity position
- CNBC’s Jim Cramer praised Nokia as “a winner,” highlighting its technological resurgence
Nokia (NOK) shares jumped approximately 6% during Friday’s session, reaching around $13.65, propelled by impressive first quarter performance, positive analyst commentary, and growing artificial intelligence exposure.
This rally continues an extraordinary performance streak. The stock has advanced more than 113% since the beginning of 2025 and has gained over 155% during 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 roughly 65.97 million.
Nokia’s first quarter financial performance delivered several encouraging metrics. Net sales climbed 4% compared to the prior year period, with the Optical Networks division posting a robust 20% increase.
The headline figure was a 49% year-over-year jump in revenue generated from artificial intelligence and cloud computing clients. Company executives attributed this growth to increased capital deployment from hyperscale data center operators and expanding enterprise AI infrastructure requirements.
The Finnish telecommunications equipment manufacturer has disclosed approximately €1 billion in AI-related contract bookings, strengthening the investment thesis among equity research analysts tracking the company.
Wall Street Upgrades Provide Additional Support
Arete Research elevated its rating on Nokia from neutral to buy Thursday, triggering a 3.6% gain that day with an intraday peak of $12.92. Share volume spiked 122% above typical levels following the upgrade announcement.
Morgan Stanley reaffirmed its overweight recommendation earlier this week. Nordea Equity Research similarly upgraded the stock to buy on April 24th.
Current Wall Street consensus shows 12 analysts recommending purchase, four suggesting hold positions, and two maintaining sell ratings. The overall rating stands at Moderate Buy, although the consensus price target of $9.71 trails significantly behind current trading levels.
Citigroup represents the primary bearish voice, holding onto a sell rating originally issued in January.
Strategic Moves in AI Infrastructure and the Inseego Transaction
Nokia finalized an agreement to transfer 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 next-generation initiatives including 6G development, wireless edge computing infrastructure, and AI-powered connectivity solutions.
Inseego conducted an investor conference call this week elaborating on the acquisition structure, partnership framework, and strategic roadmap.
This transaction enables Nokia to exit a lower-margin hardware segment while maintaining strategic involvement in the fixed wireless access sector through its Inseego equity position.
CNBC’s Jim Cramer offered his perspective Friday, labeling Nokia “a winner” during his broadcast. He commented, “I gotta hand it to those guys for sticking around because, wow, I think it’s got a lot of good technology.”
Nokia also announced an increase to its quarterly dividend distribution to $0.0468, up from the previous $0.04, translating to an annualized yield of approximately 1.5%. The payment will be distributed on May 12th to shareholders of record as of April 28th.
One potential concern: the trailing price-to-earnings multiple hovers around 80, creating vulnerability should the company stumble on execution or fail to meet earnings projections. Wall Street analysts project full-year earnings per share of $0.41.
Nokia’s market capitalization currently stands at approximately $74 billion. The 50-day moving average sits at $8.83 while the 200-day moving average rests at $7.32, both substantially below the present share price.
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