U.S.-listed shares of Nokia rose Thursday after the company best known for cellphones said it extended its partnership with Microsoft to advance artificial-intelligence operations for telecommunications providers.
Nokia gained 4.6% to $10.61 in premarketing on Thursday after ending Wednesday up 3%. The shares have risen 57% this year as of the closing bell on Wednesday.
Nokia and Microsoft will work to accelerate network automation and partner on the development of an agentic "unified data foundation" for faster and more reliable AI-driven operations for telecommunication.
The collaboration combines Nokia Data Suite's "telco data products" with Microsoft Fabric's analytics, governance, and AI capabilities.
Nokia and Microsoft have an existing partnership in which the two companies work on cloud, data, AI, and cybersecurity.
The additional collaboration with Microsoft could solidify Nokia as a legitimate AI infrastructure stock. The company has shed its meme stock status from 2021 and shifted its business toward optical networks.
Rosenblatt analyst Mike Genovese earlier this week initiated coverage of Nokia with a Buy rating and a $15 price. That price target represented 48% upside from the closing price of $10.14 on Wednesday.
"Nokia's network infrastructure segment is quietly becoming one of the best-positioned 0ptical assets in the AI buildout," Genovese wrote.
The analyst noted that Nokia's optical networks revenue grew 20% in the second quarter and that revenue from AI and cloud more than doubled.
Genovese said the current valuation on Nokia is "potentially conservative," and that the company's business will likely shift "significantly more toward AI over time."
The extended partnership with Microsoft might prove Genovese correct.
Comments