Key Takeaways
- Morgan Stanley established a new street-high price target of €8.50 for Nokia, up from €6.50
- AI and cloud infrastructure investment momentum cited as primary catalysts
- Nokia shares finished Wednesday trading at €6.83, marking a 24% year-to-date gain
- The bullish call follows recent downgrades from DNB Carnegie and Danske Bank that pressured shares
- Nokia exceeded Q4 earnings forecasts while simultaneously lowering its 2026 profit outlook
The Finnish telecommunications equipment giant received a significant endorsement from Wall Street analysts on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley elevated its price objective for Nokia to €8.50 from a previous €6.50, establishing the most optimistic target among Wall Street firms tracked by Bloomberg.
The investment bank attributes its bullish stance to robust demand stemming from artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure expenditures. Morgan Stanley’s research team also highlighted that Nokia is capitalizing on heightened network infrastructure investment and encouraging results from competitors in the sector.
Nokia shares settled at €6.83 on Wednesday’s Helsinki trading session. The stock has appreciated approximately 24% since the beginning of 2026.
The optimistic revision arrives during a volatile period for the equity. Nokia experienced a roughly 5% decline at one stage on Wednesday after dipping beneath its 5-day moving average, a technical indicator closely monitored by active traders.
This retracement followed an impressive rally. The Helsinki-traded shares had climbed more than 12% during the previous week and exceeded 37% gains over the trailing month, creating conditions ripe for profit-taking.
On the New York Stock Exchange, Nokia’s American depositary receipt concluded Tuesday’s session near $7.90, advancing 1.28% for the trading day.
Contrasting Analyst Views Create Headwinds
Not every Wall Street firm shares Morgan Stanley’s enthusiasm. DNB Carnegie reduced its rating on Nokia from buy to hold with a $6.50 price objective on March 10. Danske Bank implemented a comparable downgrade in late February, also establishing a $6.50 target.
This sequence of rating adjustments has contributed to investor uncertainty, compounded by Nokia’s decision to reduce its 2026 profitability forecast when releasing Q4 results — despite surpassing earnings expectations.
For its latest reporting period, Nokia reported adjusted operating profit reaching €435 million against net sales of €4.83 billion. The results exceeded market projections and demonstrated 12% year-over-year revenue expansion, although profitability declined roughly 10% compared to the prior year.
Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing Fuel Expansion
The strongest growth momentum has emerged from optical and IP networking divisions, where shipments to hyperscale cloud providers continue accelerating.
Moody’s reaffirmed Nokia’s Ba1 credit assessment in December and upgraded its outlook to positive, anticipating profitability improvements throughout 2026–2028. NVIDIA maintains a 2.9% ownership position in the company.
Nokia concluded September 2025 with approximately €6.1 billion in cash reserves and committed credit arrangements extending well into the coming decade.
Mobile network infrastructure represents a softer business segment. Radio access network capital expenditure has remained muted, with mobile networks revenue declining about 2% year-over-year in the most recent quarter.
At Mobile World Congress, Nokia unveiled AI-powered radio access network technologies and preliminary 6G development initiatives in collaboration with NVIDIA and multiple telecommunications operators.
The broader Wall Street consensus leans cautiously optimistic. MarketBeat intelligence from early January indicated a “Moderate Buy” rating, comprising 8 buy recommendations, 3 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating among 12 covering analysts. The consensus 12-month price target for the ADR stands around $6.10, though Intellectia AI calculates the average nearer to $7.36 with a peak estimate of $8.50.
Morgan Stanley’s updated €8.50 target now represents the most bullish price objective on Wall Street for Nokia shares.
