HELSINKI, May 26, 2026, 11:10 EEST
Nokia Oyj stock traded near its 52-week high in Helsinki on Tuesday after a filing revealed a top executive purchased about $500,000 worth of shares late last week.
Shares were at 13.10 euros, up 0.23%, as of 11:08 a.m. EEST. Earlier, they hit 13.47 euros, close to the 52-week high at 13.50. Volume was 3.93 million shares, according to Google Finance data.
Timing is what matters for investors. Nokia isn’t just seen as a slow-moving telecom-equipment play now. The recent run in the stock is tied to hopes that artificial intelligence, or AI, demand will keep boosting the company’s optical and data-center networking arm.
Helsinki traded as usual. Nasdaq’s published 2026 holiday calendar does not show May 26 as a day off for the Helsinki equity market, with XHEL’s main session running 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. EEST. The Helsinki 25 index, which tracks big Finnish stocks, rose 0.12%.
Nokia reported Monday that Konstanty Owczarek, noted as “other senior manager,” bought 32,595 Nokia shares on the New York Stock Exchange on May 22. The average price was $15.3457. The filing came under the EU Market Abuse Regulation, which mandates public reporting of management trades. Nokia Corporation | Nokia
A manager buying shares isn’t a contract or official outlook, but it does give traders something firm. With the stock close to record highs and much of the rally riding on the AI story, that kind of datapoint stands out.
Nokia launched its new AI Networking Innovation Lab in Sunnyvale, California last week. Early tech partners include AMD, Keysight, Lenovo, Supermicro, and Weka. “It’s a major milestone,” said Rudy Hoebeke, Nokia’s vice president of software product management. He said the lab will help the company validate networks “under more realistic AI conditions.” Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Nokia’s April earnings topped forecasts. First-quarter comparable operating profit jumped 54% to 281 million euros, beating the 250 million euro estimate, Reuters said. Sales to AI and cloud customers climbed 49%, with Nokia booking 1 billion euros in new orders from those buyers. CEO Justin Hotard said Nokia is tracking “somewhat above the mid-point” of its full-year comparable operating profit outlook. Reuters
Cisco is now a factor in competitive read-through, not just older mobile network names. The company said it booked $5.3 billion in AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers this month, bumping its full-year target for such orders to $9 billion. Ryan Lee at Direxion said the update pointed to AI capital spending being “about more than just chips.” Reuters
Nokia’s American depositary receipts ended at $15.47 in New York on Friday. With U.S. markets shut for Memorial Day on Monday, traders looked to Helsinki for signals ahead of Wall Street’s return on Tuesday.
Still, the risk stands out. The manager’s purchase is minor compared with Nokia’s market cap, and AI-linked orders can swing a lot. Shares trade much higher than at the start of the year. If cloud spending dips, or if Cisco and other networking names take a bigger share of data-center budgets, buyers for the rally might dry up fast.
Nokia is still getting the benefit of the doubt in the market for now. The focus now shifts to whether the company can translate AI lab work, optical-network demand, and broker bullishness into real, recurring revenue, not just a higher share price.
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