Nokia (NYSE:NOK) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Key Points

• Nokia shares dropped sharply, opening at $8.57 versus a prior close of $9.25, despite the company beating third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations.
• Nokia reported strong AI- and cloud-driven growth, including a 15% rise in Network Infrastructure sales and a 123% increase in sales to AI and cloud customers.
• Investors appeared disappointed that management left full-year guidance unchanged and remained concerned about rising AI expansion costs and demanding valuation expectations. Analysts nevertheless maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $13.57 target price.

Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $9.25, but opened at $8.57. Nokia shares last traded at $8.5270, with a volume of 32,887,669 shares traded.

Trending Headlines about Nokia

Here are the key news stories impacting Nokia this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nokia reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of approximately $0.10 per share, above the $0.08 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $5.84 billion versus expectations of $5.72 billion. Revenue increased roughly 10% year over year, and comparable operating profit rose 35%. Nokia third-quarter profit beats expectations
• Positive Sentiment: AI and cloud demand is accelerating Nokia’s Network Infrastructure business: sales rose 15% on a constant-currency basis, including 43% growth in IP Networks and 18% growth in Optical Networks. Sales to AI and cloud customers increased 123%, while order intake rose 118%. Nokia Corporation Interim Report for Q3 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships with NVIDIA, Supermicro, T-Mobile and other operators are positioning Nokia to benefit from AI-RAN, data-center networking, edge computing and high-capacity fiber deployments. T-Mobile also reported an AI-RAN call using Nokia and NVIDIA technology. T-Mobile claims world first AI-RAN call with Nokia and Nvidia
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said growth should continue but maintained its existing full-year financial outlook, offering no additional upward revision after the earnings beat. Nokia Q3 profit rises on AI-driven network demand
• Negative Sentiment: The market is selling the stock because the strong results were not accompanied by higher guidance, while investors are concerned that costs are mounting as Nokia expands its AI-related capabilities. Nokia thrives in AI boom, but its costs are mounting
• Negative Sentiment: After a substantial multi-year rally tied to the AI opportunity, valuation and cash-flow expectations have become more demanding. Investors may be taking profits and reassessing whether future growth justifies the price. Can Nokia Oyj Sustain a Cash Flow Discount After Its 194% Run?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NOK. B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on Nokia in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Nokia in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Nokia in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Nokia in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nokia in a research note on Friday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nokia has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.57.

Nokia Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $47.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.19. The company's fifty day moving average is $10.21 and its 200 day moving average is $11.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Nokia (NYSE:NOK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.72 billion. Nokia had a return on equity of 9.83% and a net margin of 3.49%. Nokia's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nokia Corporation will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nokia

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Nokia by 166.4% in the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 20,388,202 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $163,921,000 after acquiring an additional 12,734,021 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Nokia by 131.3% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 13,294,780 shares of the technology company's stock worth $106,890,000 after buying an additional 7,546,000 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Nokia by 1,710.9% in the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,468,371 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,309,000 after buying an additional 4,221,629 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its holdings in Nokia by 0.5% in the third quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 2,470,183 shares of the technology company's stock worth $25,048,000 after buying an additional 12,888 shares during the period. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in Nokia by 19.2% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 1,864,080 shares of the technology company's stock worth $24,755,000 after buying an additional 300,807 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 5.28% of the company's stock.

About Nokia

Nokia Oyj is a Finland-based technology company that provides communications networking equipment, software and related services to telecommunications operators, enterprises, governments and other organizations worldwide. Its offerings support fixed and mobile broadband, optical and IP networks, data centers, cloud environments and private wireless communications.

The company's business activities include mobile network infrastructure, network automation and management software, fiber and broadband access, optical networking, routing, data-center networking, and cloud and network services.

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