Though not quite the perfect storm, there are several tangible reasons behind the pop in Nokia's (NOK -0.81%) stock price today. Unlike those times when rumor or speculation affects share price movement in the near term, Nokia's rise has legs.
As I discussed in an article a few days ago, Nokia is on a roll, with a slew of positives to share with investors and shareholders alike, driving its stellar run of late. Selling out of Lumia smartphones domestically at Amazon.com, in addition to the online store of its partner AT&T, was one of the highlights. Thankfully for long-suffering shareholders, turns out Nokia has a few more goodies up its sleeve.
What's all the fuss about?
Though Nokia's stock appreciation has eased a bit from its intraday high of 7%, you won't hear many complaints about its current $4.20 share price (give or take). Near the top of the list of reasons behind Nokia's run is news related to its recently announced deal with China Mobile (CHL). With 700 million customers, China Mobile represents a huge opportunity for Nokia. And it appears Nokia is taking full advantage of its new-found relationship with the Chinese smartphone community.
According to Amazon.com China, the Lumia 920T is the sales leader of its high-end smartphone line-up. That's good no matter how you slice it, but when you consider those sales results include the recently released iPhone 5 from Apple (AAPL 1.27%), it takes on added significance. Now, if Nokia could just keep enough Lumias in stock to appease its customers!
But wait, there's more
As it stands, AT&T is the sole provider of Nokia's Lumia 920 smartphone running Microsoft's (MSFT 0.37%) Windows 8 here in the states. Nothing wrong with that; U.S. carriers have other Nokia phone offerings to choose from, including others with Windows 8. Thing is, the Lumia 920 is Nokia's flagship smartphone, the one CEO Stephen Elop has hedged his bets on. Which is why his discussion with CNET has Nokia shareholders feeling giddy.
In talking with CNET, Elop shared that, "we're pleased to have just restarted our relationship with Verizon. We are planning a lot of exciting things with Verizon as well [as AT&T]." By exciting, today's investors are obviously expecting Verizon, a domestic behemoth in wireless, to get on board the Lumia 920 train. Folks, this could get real good, real fast.
As some Fools know, I've long been bullish on Nokia -- even before it was trading in the low $2 range, when the sum of its parts was worth more than its share price. But I always get a bit skittish after a big run-up, at least in the near term, because of day traders and profit takers.
The good news? Short interest in Nokia is the largest its been in months. If Nokia keeps this up, there will be a lot of investors scrambling to cover their short positions, more than offsetting any short-term pressure from profit seekers. Even more importantly, in the mid to long term, there's a basis for Nokia's stellar performance. When we're deep into 2013, and shareholders take a moment to look back, they may point to right now as the return of Nokia.
