Nokia shares have jumped about 100% this year, as the Finnish group is now viewed as an artificial intelligence infrastructure play with exposure to data centres, optical networks, IP routing and switching equipment used by large cloud companies. Bank of America has reiterated its buy rating on Nokia and raised its target price to €15.6 from €14.4, implying more than 44% upside, and expects Nokia to again report strong AI-related order intake when it announces second-quarter results on July 23. BofA said investor focus will be on order intake from AI and cloud customers, especially whether hardware orders linked to AI technology remain at least in line with the €1 billion booked in the first quarter. A Jefferies report dated June 30 raised its Nokia price target to €13.8 from €10.7, noting Nokia’s engagement with hyperscalers is increasing across its optical portfolio. Jefferies said Nokia booked €2.4 billion of cloud and AI orders in 2025 and another €1 billion in the first quarter of 2026, mostly in optical, while revenue from cloud and AI was only €350 million in the first quarter. Nokia’s first-quarter comparable operating profit rose 54% to €281 million, and AI and cloud customer sales rose 49%. The company raised its expected AI and cloud market growth to 27% annually for 2025-2028, from an earlier estimate of 16%.