Nokia (NYSE:NOK) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $9.44, but opened at $10.40. Nokia shares last traded at $10.2850, with a volume of 31,811,956 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on NOK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Nokia in a research report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Nokia from $14.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Arete Research raised shares of Nokia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Nokia in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Nokia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nokia presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.57.

Nokia Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.60 billion, a PE ratio of 74.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.52.

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.01. Nokia had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 9.83%. The firm had revenue of $5.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nokia Corporation will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nokia

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Analog Century Management LP purchased a new position in Nokia during the 4th quarter valued at about $104,244,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Nokia by 50.0% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 43,424,695 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $208,873,000 after acquiring an additional 14,482,665 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in Nokia by 166.4% during the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 20,388,202 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $163,921,000 after acquiring an additional 12,734,021 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Nokia by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 91,942,507 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $594,868,000 after purchasing an additional 11,612,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in shares of Nokia by 171.0% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 17,490,101 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $113,161,000 after purchasing an additional 11,035,002 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.28% of the company’s stock.

Nokia Company Profile

Nokia Corporation, headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is a global telecommunications and technology company with roots dating back to 1865. Over its long history the company moved from forestry and cable operations into electronics and telecommunications, becoming widely known in the 1990s and 2000s for its mobile phones. In recent years Nokia refocused its business toward network infrastructure, software and technology licensing, and research and development, following the divestiture of its handset manufacturing business and the acquisition of Alcatel‑Lucent in 2016, which brought Bell Labs into its portfolio.

Today Nokia’s core activities center on designing, building and supporting communications networks and related software.