HELSINKI, March 11, 2026, 15:59 EET
Nokia shares slipped on Wednesday, trading near 6.7 euros in Helsinki after senior manager Raghav Sahgal sold 150,000 shares and a broker downgrade hit sentiment. That pulled some momentum from a stock that’s surged earlier this year.
That’s relevant right now, since Nokia shares have climbed roughly 20% since Jan. 1 on the back of its AI and data-center bets—even though demand for classic 5G equipment is still uneven. The drop on Wednesday points to investors starting to wonder just how much of that AI optimism is already reflected in the share price.
According to Marketscreener via Finwire, DNB Carnegie lowered its rating on Nokia to hold from buy on Tuesday, sticking with the 6.50 euro price target. Just days earlier, Nordea upped its target to 7.2 euros and kept its buy recommendation in place. The result: Nokia shares now straddle a bullish outlook on longer-term prospects and a more cautious short-term valuation call.
There’s also fresh detail from an insider filing. On Tuesday, Nokia disclosed that Sahgal unloaded 150,000 shares, fetching a weighted average of 6.7072 euros per share. The transaction, flagged in line with EU market-abuse regulations, was made public here: GlobeNewswire
Nokia pushed deeper into AI-driven telecom deals, Reuters reported March 2, expanding its partnerships with both TIM Brasil and Deutsche Telekom, while also securing a multi-year agreement to supply Telefonica with network solutions for Spanish data centers. Taken together, those moves highlight how AI-fueled upgrades are opening fresh revenue streams for the company.
Nokia’s statement on the TIM Brasil expansion quoted Chief Executive Justin Hotard: “AI is already reshaping network traffic and performance expectations.” The project involves AI-RAN—meaning artificial intelligence is integrated directly into the radio layer of the mobile network. Nokia said this rollout should cover roughly 42% of Brazil’s population. Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Nvidia’s $1 billion bet on a 2.9% piece of Nokia, struck in October, lit a fire under the Finnish company’s stock—shares spiked 20.86% that session. PP Foresight’s Paolo Pescatore described the deal as “a strong endorsement of Nokia’s capabilities.” Reuters
Nokia isn’t the only one feeling the pressure. According to Reuters, operators are scrambling to upgrade systems for a wave of AI-driven traffic, putting Ericsson in the spotlight too as carriers weigh Western options for their upcoming modernization efforts.
Timing is the question. Back in October, Hotard told Reuters that revenue from the Nvidia-linked equipment won’t show up until 2027. Nokia, for its part, projected in January that 2026 comparable operating profit would land somewhere between 2 billion and 2.5 billion euros—a number Jefferies tagged as “somewhat conservative.” If carrier spending remains pinched and legacy 5G headwinds persist, the stock could struggle to hang onto its recent gains. Reuters
Nokia’s shares remain well above their pre-AI rally marks, but Wednesday’s stall shifted the focus. It’s no longer about whether Nokia has AI exposure—now it’s about whether that exposure is going to feed into earnings quickly enough to support the current valuation.
Related articles: NYSE:NOK
