New York, June 12, 2026, 18:01 (EDT).
- Nokia led the OMX Helsinki 25 in Finland on Friday, ending up 10.06% at about €12.97.
- JPMorgan upped its price target on Nokia to €18 from €12 and maintained an overweight rating.
- Nokia will release its Q2 and half-year results on July 23, which is the next major catalyst.
Nokia Oyj shares jumped 10.06% to €12.97 in Helsinki on Friday after an analyst upgrade spurred buying and put attention back on its AI networking efforts. It was the top gainer on the OMX Helsinki 25, which closed up 1.53%. The OMX Helsinki 25 tracks the most traded blue-chip names on the exchange, according to Investing.com’s market report.
The U.S.-listed Nokia ADR kept climbing, changing hands at $14.80, up roughly 5.0%. That added to Thursday’s 5.15% gain, when shares ended at $14.09 and broke a two-day losing run. The ADR had dropped 3.25% on Wednesday after a rough start to the week and is still trading below its June 3 52-week high of $17.45. An ADR, or American depositary receipt, lets U.S. investors trade foreign stocks.
JPMorgan’s call drove the move. MarketScreener, which cited Finwire and Bloomberg News, said Friday that JPMorgan bumped its Nokia target to €18 from €12 and stuck to its overweight rating. That implies JPMorgan thinks the shares will beat their benchmark or sector. Another report said JPMorgan sees Nokia’s 2028 operating profit topping the company’s target by over 50%. The bank said consensus numbers might miss potential from AI and cloud sales.
Nokia’s new push into optical networks, IP routing and cloud infrastructure for AI data centers is driving the bull case. In Q1, the company posted a 54% jump in comparable operating profit to €281 million. Sales to AI and cloud clients were up 49%. Nokia reported €1 billion in AI and cloud orders for the quarter. CEO Justin Hotard said, “We are increasing our growth assumption for Optical and IP Networks.” Nokia upped its 2026 sales growth target for Network Infrastructure to 12%–14%. GlobeNewswire
Nokia is leaning further into AI, but with a longer timeline. On June 11, the company rolled out an agentic AI framework for its Network Services Platform. Nokia says this will let operators use AI agents to run IP networks, but within rules and security boundaries. “Trust remains the deciding factor,” said Sasa Nijemcevic, vice president and GM for IP Network Automation software. Nokia expects the new tech to be ready for sale by the end of 2026. Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Bearish voices point to the stock having run too far. EFN flagged this week that the market may have gotten ahead of itself in AI names like Nokia. The stock has nearly tripled over the last year, even though 2025 revenue is only up 3%. Gains in cloud and AI were balanced out by weakness in fixed networks. On MarketScreener’s consensus page, 23 analysts have it at an “outperform” average, but the mean target price is €10.24. That’s below the latest close at €12.96, which means the stock doesn’t look cheap on consensus numbers. The highest target is €18. MarketScreener
Nokia’s next big test for investors is the Q2 and half-year 2026 report out July 23. The market will be watching to see if AI and cloud orders are coming through as sales, and if IP and Optical Networks are still on pace for Nokia’s 18%–20% growth target. Margins are also in focus as Nokia pushes spending higher on manufacturing capacity and research. The company’s Q1 view calls for Q2 net sales up 5%–9% from Q1, and for Q2 comparable operating profit to make up 12%–16% of full-year profit.
Nokia still looks like a tough buy for anyone relying on standard valuation, unless you want high-speed AI earnings and are ready to pay for them. JPMorgan’s €18 target backs the bullish view, but most analysts see it trading above their targets. Volatility, stretched AI valuations, and Nokia’s risks—competition, changing customer spend, chips, supply chains, currency swings—all keep the rally from looking safe to valuation-focused investors.
