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Nokia shares hit 16-year low as losses continue

The troubled smartphone company saw its shares sink to $1.84 yesterday, and in premarket trading today, they're down once again.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop showing off the Lumia 900.
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop showing off a the Lumia 900. Lori Grunin/CNET

Nokia shares have now hit levels that the company hasn't seen in nearly two decades, and not in a good way.

The mobile company's shares closed the day yesterday at $1.84, pushing Nokia's stock to its lowest point in 16 years. The company's market cap stands at $6.89 billion.

Nokia's troubles have been well-documented. The company, which once dominated the mobile space, has watched its popularity erode at the hands of Android and Apple's iPhone. As sales continue to plummet, the company has been forced to rejigger its operation and layoff staff to stay afloat. It's now betting its future on Microsoft's Windows Phone. And although Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has urged stakeholders to hang with the company as it fights its way out of trouble, shareholders have done quite the opposite.

In the last year alone, Nokia shares are down 70 percent. Over the last five years, Nokia's stock has shaved off 94 percent of its value. If the decline keeps coming, Nokia's shares might hit levels the company hasn't witnessed since 1994.

Unfortunately for Nokia, the chances of a further erosion in its stock price seem somewhat likely: as of this writing, the company's shares are down 4 cents in premarket trading.