Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) the troubled handset maker may be on its way to the highest seven-day gain in more than 20 years in Helsinki trading. The share price has received a boost from stronger sales of its flagship handset model and insider purchases by top management.
The handset maker, stock rose 17 percent to 2.28 Euros today, for a seven day total increase of 56 percent. Nokia’s stock has is up more than than 60 percent since hitting an all-time low on July 18. The Finnish company reported that sales of its Lumia model increased to 4 million units in the second quarter up from 2 million in the previous period.
“Perhaps this is the beginning of a recovery for Nokia” said an analyst from AlphaValue in Paris, “There is hope that sales might continue to grow also with the release of the new Windows phone.”
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) said in a statement “Elop and several directors bought more than $1 million of Nokia’s shares as a sign of “commitment to Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) and confidence in our future.” The Finland Company has resorted to various measures to stay solvent, including; 20,000 job cuts, shut down of various production and research sites.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) also received a boost due to rumors that Levano is considering a purchase of Nokia. “This must be a joke,” Gianfranco Lanci, who runs Lenovo’s operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa, told Reuters. “There’s nothing ongoing.” The Finnish company shares jumped 11 percent on this news. Nokia declined to comment on the matter.
Last week, Nokia announced to close its Salo plant in Finland after talks with union representatives. Nokia introduced its plan to save cash and to slash headcount by 10,000. Nokia plans to close the Salo plant, which currently the last manufacturing site in the region.
Prior to its July 19 earnings report, total short positions ion Nokia shares increased by 11 percent, with total shorts representing 16% of outstanding shares.
Nokia once the world’s dominant mobile phone maker, failed to judge the popularity of smartphones, which resulted in loss of market share Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Samsung and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG).
Despite the recent rally, shares are still far below the $40 mark reached in 2008.
Nokia ADR shares are currently trading at $2.56 at the time of this writing.
