Apr. 29, 2022 1:42 PM ET
By: Jason Aycock, SA News Editor

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) is one of the few solid gainers in a sharply lower tech market Friday, up 3.8%, after Cowen reacted to Thursday's earnings report with a Street-high price target.

"VAIKUTTAVA" - Finnish for "impressive!" - says analyst Paul Silverstein, who says the quarter reinforced his favorable long-term outlook driven by "strong wireline Network Infrastructure end demand and overall margin expansion, along with improved execution in Mobile Networks."

The first two of those, network infrastructure demand and margin expansion, should "step up" with the eventual attenuation and resolution of supply chain constraints, he writes.

The results lead him and Cowen to boost revenue growth and gross margin forecasts for calendar 2022-2024, which flows through to higher earning per share estimates for each year.

He's raised 2022 EPS expectations to $0.46 from $0.38, and boosted 2023's forecast to $0.53 from $0.46.

In Network Infrastructure in particular, order growth was strong and broad-based. Fixed Networks (broadband access) grew by 29%, and Subsea grew 25%, while IP Networks (routing) grew 3%.

Optical Networks fell by 13%, but "supply constraints drove all of the decline," Silverstein says, and order growth looks very strong there as well.

He's boosting his price target to $9/€8 - which implies upside of 77% in the NYSE-listed shares and 64% upside in the Helsinki listing.