Handset bellwether Nokia Corp. received a boost from J.P. Morgan, which upgraded the company to “overweight” from “neutral,” leading to a 3.5-percent leap in shares.
Another analyst Dresdner Wasserstein also lifted the vendor to “buy” from “hold,” on account of a “tidal wave of handset demand.”
“Nokia looks attractive . with strong fourth-quarter results likely, positive handset unit growth momentum, very significant financial strength, improving disclosure and undemanding valuations,” said J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Davies Jones.
The bank said the telecom world is stabilizing, Nokia being a good example.
“After an unsatisfactory 2003, the pieces are coming into place for stronger share price performance from Nokia in 2004,” said the analyst.
J.P. Morgan, however, downgraded Alcatel to “underweight” from “neutral.” Nortel Networks Ltd. also rose in stocks owing to its voice over Internet Protocol deal with Verizon Corp.
