Nokia Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:NOK)

Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 58,054 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 27% compared to the average daily volume of 45,719 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Santander raised shares of Nokia from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Argus raised shares of Nokia to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nokia in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Kepler Capital Markets raised Nokia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Arete Research downgraded Nokia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.01.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nokia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOK. Analog Century Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Nokia during the fourth quarter worth about $104,244,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Nokia by 50.0% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 43,424,695 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $208,873,000 after purchasing an additional 14,482,665 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Nokia by 35,010.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 12,655,143 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $60,871,000 after purchasing an additional 12,619,099 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Nokia by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 80,329,917 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $386,387,000 after purchasing an additional 11,667,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in Nokia by 171.0% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 17,490,101 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $113,161,000 after purchasing an additional 11,035,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.28% of the company’s stock.

Nokia Trading Up 6.6%

NYSE NOK opened at $8.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.81, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.58. Nokia has a one year low of $4.00 and a one year high of $8.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $7.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.61.

Nokia Company Profile

Nokia Corporation, headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is a global telecommunications and technology company with roots dating back to 1865. Over its long history the company moved from forestry and cable operations into electronics and telecommunications, becoming widely known in the 1990s and 2000s for its mobile phones. In recent years Nokia refocused its business toward network infrastructure, software and technology licensing, and research and development, following the divestiture of its handset manufacturing business and the acquisition of Alcatel‑Lucent in 2016, which brought Bell Labs into its portfolio.

Today Nokia’s core activities center on designing, building and supporting communications networks and related software.