With the Nokia stock having witnessed a steep, 18 percent, plunge on Thursday, there are speculations galore that the Finland-based handset maker could apparently be a potential acquisition target for buyers willing to bet that the company still has a future in smartphones.

Nokia has put itself at risk for a takeover bid after it recently revealed that it expects a wider-than-expected second-quarter operating loss from handsets; and said that it intends laying off nearly 10,000 employees because of its steady loss of smartphone market share to the Apple iPhone and Samsung devices.

Nokia was, at one time, one of the most valuable European companies; but it has been amid losses in the recent years, after it failed to sell a loss-making equipment venture to Siemens and decided to rebuild its smartphone business around Microsoft's Windows Phone software.

Drawing attention to the fact that Nokia has the lowest price-sales multiple among communications-equipment makers, along with cash and short-term investments that surpass its $8.6 billion market value and a trove of nearly 10,000 patents, Falcon Point Capital is of the opinion that Nokia could attract software giant Microsoft.

Expressing a similar opinion, analyst Charlie Wolf - from Needham & Co - said that Microsoft will probably be the most likely buyer of Nokia, especially since the two companies are partners in the manufacturing of Windows smartphones.

Noting that "Without Nokia, Windows Phone could be finished," Wolf said: "It's difficult to see Microsoft winning in the smartphone space - it needs to buy Nokia."