UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Upgrades Nokia to Overweight on Following Recent Data-Points

In a report published Monday, J.P. Morgan analyst Sandeep Deshpande upgraded the rating on Nokia Corporation NOK from Underweight to Overweight, and raised the price target from $2.65 to $4.70. In the report, J.P. Morgan noted, “Recent data-points that Nokia has actually considered selling the handset business, that based on industry data it has raised supply chain indications for FY13, and with growth in mid and low end smartphones strong, with Nokia having products in that range, indicate to us that the endgame is potentially close for Nokia. The company could turn around smartphones on higher volumes or negotiate a sale if they opt to exit the business. NSN re-structuring should continue and it could potentially be ready to embark on the next stage by end ‘13. We apply a probability weighted SoTP methodology to assign some value to handsets which has not been valued in our SoTP in the past.” Nokia Corporation closed on Friday at $3.81.