Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) shares have been upgraded to a Buy from Hold in a research report to investors on Wednesday by Carnegie, says a report from Stock Ratings News. Overall, six analysts have a Sell rating, twenty-one have a Hold rating while fourteen have a Buy on Nokia. On an average, Nokia has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $12.68.
Rating from other analysts
Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) has been subjected to a number of ratings in recent times including a downgrade by Raymond James analyst to Underperform from Market Perform in a research note to investors on January 14. Raymond James now has a price target of $7.00 on the stock. Also, in a note to investors on December 17th, analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a Market Perform rating on Nokia. The Finnish firm also received a downgrade from Societe Generale analysts from Buy to a Hold in a research note to investors on December 11th.
For the latest available quarter, Nokia posted earnings of $0.01 per share, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01). The Finnish firm posted revenue of $5.66 billion below the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. For the same quarter, last year, the company posted ($0.07) earnings per share while revenue was down 21.8% on a year-over-year basis.
Nokia close to naming CEO
A report from Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, says that Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) is close to selecting a successor to former Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop. The company is considering insiders including Rajeev Suri, the head of Nokia’s network-equipment unit, to close on the months-long search for the coveted position. Finance Chief Timo Ihamuotila is also being considered for the job.
The new CEO will be responsible for turning around the 149-year-old company, which has switched industries previously, and is working again to make a fresh start after selling its handset unit to Microsoft. Elop, who played a major role in the deal with Microsoft, will rejoin the software giant as a part of the transaction.
Apart from the internal names, Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) is also considering external candidates. The Finnish firm is expected to name the new CEO after concluding the sale of handset division, which is expected to complete this quarter. The deal is awaiting regulatory approval from countries including China.
