Nokia Scales 52-Week High on Share Buyback Plan - Analyst Blog

Shares of Nokia Corporation NOK jumped nearly 4%, touching a 52-week high of $8.35 yesterday after the company announced its plan to buy back up to 370 million shares. However, the company's shares ended the day a trifle lower at $8.33.

The Finnish telecommunication company, which has a market cap of nearly $31 billion, has witnessed its shares shoot up more than 116% over the past twelve months.

In the past one month, the company's shares have jumped more than 15% on the back of a couple of deals. Nokia's network unit, Nokia Solutions and Networks (“NSN”) sealed a five-year deal with Telenor – a multinational telecommunications company – to provide the latter with radio access equipment and accomplished services. Per the deal, NSN will help Telenor in upgrading its 2G, 3G and 4G networks across Europe and Asia.

NSN also cut a deal with Algeria-based carrier Algérie Télécom. Per the deal, NSN will deliver its popular RAN (radio access network) technology on Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Station to network sites.

Moreover the company has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters with an average earnings surprise of 77.78%. In the previously concluded quarter, the company posted earnings per share of 6 cents which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 4 cents.

Continuous contract wins, aggressive 4G LTE network deployment across China and higher investments in network restructuring by emerging nations may bolster top-line growth for Nokia. In addition, increasing popularity of HERE mapping alongside a strong automobile industry are likely to drive margins and revenues.

Despite the strong price appreciation, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock still has plenty of upside left, given the positive earnings estimate revisions witnessed over the recent past. In the last 60 days, the company has witnessed upward revisions with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings moving up by 6.6% to 32 cents.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked wireless equipment stocks worth considering are Comtech Telecommunications Corp. CMTL, Polycom, Inc. PLCM and Juniper Networks, Inc. JNPR. Comtech Telecommunications and Polycom sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), whereas Polycom carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).