Nokia (NOK) Has 'Decent' Q4, But Tons of Challenges Remain - Analyst

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is having a "decent" Q4 but investors shouldn't get ahead of themselves, analysts at Oppenheimer said.

Checks from Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron show decent Q4 demand and the firm is raising estimates as a results. "Our checks point to balanced demand across all
smartphone platforms (Symbian, WP7, WP8) benefiting from channel fill and strong
carrier/Nokia/Microsoft marketing. We also believe the Asha portfolio continues to
gain traction in what is traditionally a strong quarter for feature phones. And with
positive trends at NSN, we expect operating margins to show upside."

All this said, Kidron notes Nokia faces all kinds of challenges, including stronger Android competition for Asha, lower marketing efforts in 1Q13, and an unproven WP8 portfolio.

"We believe investors should step to sidelines ahead of what is going to be a challenging and telling 1H13," he said.

The firm raised Q4 EPS from ($0.07) to ($0.04) and FY12 from ($0.36) to ($0.34). They sees FY13 EPS of $0.03. The maintained a Perform rating on Nokia shares.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Nokia click here. For more ratings news on Nokia click here.

Shares of Nokia closed are down 6.5% today to $3.60.

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