Nokia Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:NOK)

Key Points

• Nokia saw a significant increase in options trading, with 65,521 call options purchased, marking a 262% rise compared to its typical volume.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments on Nokia, with five giving it a "Buy" rating and a consensus target price of $5.32, while JPMorgan Chase lowered its price target from $6.50 to $6.00.
• Institutional investors, such as Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, have recently increased their stakes in Nokia, reflecting growing confidence in the company's prospects.

Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 65,521 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 262% compared to the typical daily volume of 18,084 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NOK. BNP Paribas upgraded Nokia from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $5.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Nokia in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Nokia from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $5.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nokia in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Nokia from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nokia has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $5.32.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nokia

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOK. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Nokia by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 108,136,988 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $560,150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957,524 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Nokia by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,550,274 shares of the technology company's stock worth $66,140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,033 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nokia in the 1st quarter worth $45,207,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Nokia by 129.4% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 8,572,860 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,179,000 after purchasing an additional 4,835,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nokia by 51.7% during the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 5,623,955 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,132,000 after buying an additional 1,916,098 shares during the last quarter. 5.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nokia Price Performance

NOK stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 66,680,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,786,648. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company's fifty day moving average is $4.72 and its 200-day moving average is $4.88. The company has a market capitalization of $29.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68 and a beta of 0.85. Nokia has a 1 year low of $3.91 and a 1 year high of $5.79.

Nokia (NYSE:NOK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. Nokia had a return on equity of 8.36% and a net margin of 5.30%.The business's revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.06 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Nokia will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nokia Company Profile

Nokia Oyj provides mobile, fixed, and cloud network solutions worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Network Infrastructure, Mobile Networks, Cloud and Network Services, and Nokia Technologies. The company provides fixed networking solutions, such as fiber and copper-based access infrastructure, in-home Wi-Fi solutions, and cloud and virtualization services; IP networking solutions, including IP access, aggregation, and edge and core routing for residential, mobile, enterprise and cloud applications; optical networks solutions that provides optical transport networks for metro, regional, and long-haul applications, and subsea applications; and submarine networks for undersea cable transmission.

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