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Nuclear energy investors are well aware of the allure of NuScale Power. The company has a clear advantage over its small modular reactor (SMR) peers as the only company with a design approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

That hasn't impressed Cathie Wood much. While NuScale Power appears in numerous exchange-traded funds, none of the Ark Invest ETFs count the SMR maker as one of their holdings.

But that's not to say that Ark Invest is completely averse to nuclear energy. In fact, several of its ETFs recently loaded up on shares of two prominent nuclear stocks.

Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Investment Management. Image source: Getty Images.

X-Energy and Oklo supercharged several Ark Invest ETFs this week Shining brightly on the Ark Invest radar, shares of SMR designer and nuclear fuel producer X-Energy (XE -0.28%) found their way into the Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK +0.16%) on Tuesday, Oct. 22, when the fund picked up 292,022 shares. On the same day, the Ark Autonomous Tech & Robotics ETF (ARKQ +0.29%) bought 126,437 shares, and the Ark Space & Defense Innovation ETF (ARKX +0.71%) picked up 66,436 shares. Assuming these ETFs bought X-Energy stock at the average of its high and low on Tuesday -- $10.48 -- the Ark Invest funds invested about $5.1 million in total.

XE X-Energy$10.60-$0.03 (-0.28%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26

The buying spree continued on Wednesday as well, with the Ark Autonomous Tech & Robotics ETF and Ark Space & Defense Innovation ETF adding 134,201 and 66,146 shares, respectively -- valued at about $2.2 million.

Not as substantial as the buys of X-Energy, Oklo stock also popped up on Ark Invest's buy list. On Tuesday, the Ark Autonomous Tech. & Robotics ETF picked up 150,998 shares. With Oklo stock trading between $26.36 and $28.20, Ark Invest's purchase was valued at around $4.1 million.

Should you follow Cathie Wood's lead and charge up your portfolio with X-Energy and Oklo? While Cathie Wood's endorsement of both X-Energy and Oklo is noteworthy, there's rampant risk in blindly following other investors' buying activity. On their merits, though, X-Energy and Oklo stocks are certainly worth considering for those seeking exposure to nuclear energy.

As X-Energy advances construction of its nuclear fuel production facility, it offers an opportunity that extends beyond SMR development. Similarly, Oklo is developing its own nuclear fuel recycling business and an isotope production facility, broadening the company's reach beyond SMRs.

Because neither X-Energy nor Oklo haven't commenced commercial operations for their SMRs, both stocks represent a higher degree of risk. For investors eager to gain exposure to these stocks while mitigating risk, investing in either the Ark Invest funds that have them among their holdings or a nuclear energy ETF that includes them is a smart choice.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $OKLO #advancedfission--Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO) ("Oklo," or "the Company"), an advanced nuclear technology company, today announced it will release its financial results and provide business updates for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, before market opens on Friday, November 6, 2026, followed by a conference call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (5:30 a.m. Pacific Time). Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, and Craig Bealmear, Chief Financial Officer, will par.

The nuclear energy market cooled off for roughly a decade after the 2011 Fukushima disaster prompted many countries to throttle or pause their nuclear projects. But the market heated up again in recent years, driven by new decarbonization initiatives, safer nuclear technologies, and the insatiable energy demands of the cloud, AI, and industrial automation markets.

Oklo (OKLO +1.91%) and X-Energy (XE +2.80%) are two new companies seeking to capitalize on the nuclear market's resurgence. Both companies develop next-gen nuclear reactors with significant advantages over conventional reactors.

Image source: Getty Images.

Oklo went public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) on May 10, 2024, and started trading at $15.50. It closed at an all-time high of $174.14 on Oct. 14, 2025, but now trades at about $28. X-Energy went public via a traditional IPO at $23 on April 24, 2026, set a record high of $35.98 just three days later, but now trades at $11.

Both companies are hard to value because they haven't deployed any commercial reactors, they're racking up steep losses, and they look expensive relative to their near-term sales. Should you buy either of these volatile stocks as a long-term play on the nuclear market?

The differences between Oklo and X-Energy Conventional nuclear reactors typically generate more than 1,000 MWe. X-Energy produces small modular reactors (SMRs), which generate 80 MWe. It typically sells its Xe-100 SMRs in groups of four, generating 320 MWe per deployment. Oklo's Aurora microreactors -- an even smaller subcategory of SMRs -- generate 15 MWe to 75 MWe per unit.

$27.76+$0.52 (+1.91%)

NYSE · As of 2:19 PM ET 10/20/26

Oklo houses its Aurora microreactors in individual "Powerhouses" that look like small A-frame chalets, and it builds additional Powerhouses to generate more power at a single site. X-Energy deploys its SMRs in a modular manner to create a single plant. Oklo plans to directly sell energy to its customers, while X-Energy plans to sell its reactors to utilities and industrial companies.

Conventional nuclear reactors are cooled by water, a major operational hurdle and strategic constraint in building new nuclear plants. But to cool their smaller reactors, Oklo uses liquid sodium, and X-Energy uses helium. Both cooling technologies are safer than water-cooled reactors, which are less heat-resistant, generate more pressure, and output more waste.

XE X-Energy$10.84+$0.30 (+2.80%)

NASDAQ · As of 2:21 PM ET 10/20/26

Oklo and X-Energy also don't use low-enriched uranium (LEU), the most common fuel for conventional nuclear reactors. Oklo uses metallic uranium fuel pellets, which offer better thermal resistance and lower fabrication costs than LEU. It also recycles those pellets in a closed loop, so its reactors can last for a decade without refueling. By comparison, conventional nuclear reactors still need to be refueled every two years.

X-Energy's high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR) consume TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) particle "pebbles" -- a form of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) designed for SMRs. These pebbles can withstand much higher temperatures than water-cooled SMRs, and they're continuously refueled -- so they never need dedicated refuelings. However, X-Energy must produce its own proprietary TRISO pebbles to fuel those reactors.

But when will Oklo and X-Energy deploy their first reactors? Oklo has a backlog of 18 GW, including a 12 GW deal with the data center builder Switch, a 1.2 GW deal with Meta Platforms, and a 500 GW deal with the data center giant Equinix. It plans to start deploying its first commercial reactors in 2027.

If that happens, analysts expect Oklo's revenue to soar from less than $3 million in 2026 (mainly from consulting and engineering services) to $51 million in 2028 as it deploys more reactors. But they also expect its net loss to widen from $161 million in 2026 to $210 million in 2028. With a market cap of $5.1 billion, Oklo already trades at 100 times its 2028 sales.

X-Energy also has a robust 11.5 GW pipeline, including a 6 GW deal with Centrica, a 5 GW deal with Amazon, and a 320 MW deal with Dow Chemical (DOW +1.01%). However, it won't deploy its first SMRs until the early 2030s.

Until then, X-Energy will generate most of its revenue from engineering services, government grants, and technical partnerships. From 2026 to 2028, analysts expect its revenue to rise from $212 million to $1.2 billion, while its net loss narrows from $430 million to $125 million. With a market cap of $3.0 billion, X-Energy trades at just 2.5 times its 2028 sales.

The better buy: X-Energy Oklo trades at a premium to X-Energy because it's closer to its first commercial deployments, doesn't need to produce its own fuel, and has greater long-term growth potential as a direct energy provider. However, too much of that growth is already baked into its valuations.

X-Energy's approach is slower, more fragmented, and more capital-intensive, but it seems undervalued relative to its growth potential. That's why I'd rather buy X-Energy instead of Oklo.

Spruce Power (NYSE:SPRU – Get Free Report) and Oklo (NYSE:OKLO – Get Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Spruce Power and Oklo, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Spruce Power 1 0 0 0 1.00 Oklo 1 9 12 1 2.57 Oklo has a consensus price target of $82.44, indicating a potential upside of 173.90%. Given Oklo’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Oklo is more favorable than Spruce Power.

Risk and Volatility Spruce Power has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oklo has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Valuation & Earnings This table compares Spruce Power and Oklo”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Spruce Power $108.49 million 0.26 -$26.03 million ($0.45) -3.27 Oklo $1.21 million 4,627.24 -$105.66 million ($0.94) -32.02 Spruce Power has higher revenue and earnings than Oklo. Oklo is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Spruce Power, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability This table compares Spruce Power and Oklo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Spruce Power -6.76% -5.94% -0.87% Oklo N/A -7.11% -6.92% Institutional and Insider Ownership 20.8% of Spruce Power shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.0% of Oklo shares are held by institutional investors. 11.2% of Spruce Power shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.7% of Oklo shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary Oklo beats Spruce Power on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Spruce Power (Get Free Report)

Spruce Power Holding Corporation owns and operates distributed solar energy assets in the United States. The company provides subscription-based services for homeowners and businesses to own and maintain rooftop solar and battery storage. It offers its subscription-based services to approximately 75,000 customers. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About Oklo (Get Free Report)

Oklo Inc. designs and develops fission power plants to provide reliable and commercial-scale energy to customers in the United States. It also provides used nuclear fuel recycling services. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

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Rising Treasury yields are hammering nuclear stocks far harder than the broader market, but the steepest drop belongs to a company that actually sells physical product today, not a pre-revenue developer still years from its first reactor.

Nuclear power stocks are under heavy pressure as long-term Treasury yields rise, and the companies with the most distant returns are taking some of the sharpest hits. NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR) stock is at $6.04, down 7% in morning trading.

Meanwhile, Energy Fuels (NYSEAMERICAN:UUUU) stock is at $8.43, down 9%, the deepest decline in the group. Also, Oklo (NYSE:OKLO | OKLO Price Prediction) stock is at $30.11, down 5%, a smaller drop than NuScale Power shares are posting.

At the same time, the Global X Uranium ETF (NYSEARCA:URA) is down 4%, giving a read on the wider uranium and nuclear complex. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) is down 0.8%, which shows the selling is far heavier in nuclear names than across the broad market.

Hot Inflation Data Sends Long-Term Yields Higher September inflation came in above forecasts, and long-term interest rates rose after the release, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note moving higher. Such a shift lands hardest on long-duration assets, meaning companies whose expected cash flows sit years out. A higher discount rate reduces the present value of those future cash flows more than it does for companies making money now.

Nuclear developers carry a second exposure on top of that valuation math. Reactor buildouts are capital-intensive, so costlier borrowing raises the expense of financing each project. Rising yields therefore pressure these businesses twice, once in the valuation model and again in the construction budget.

Energy Fuels Breaks From the Duration Script NuScale Power designs small modular reactors and earns most of its revenue from engineering and licensing work, while its value rests on reactors not yet built. It holds the only U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission design certification in the small modular reactor industry, but ENTRA1 Energy, which is advancing discussions with the Tennessee Valley Authority toward a definitive power purchase agreement, and a planned deployment at a former coal plant site in Doicești, Romania remain years from cash flow.

Oklo is developing its own reactor designs on a similar pre-revenue footing. The Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory and deals including a master power agreement with Switch and a letter of intent with Equinix depend on power that hasn’t flowed yet, though Oklo has partnered with RPower on a gas-to-nuclear bridge strategy and acquired Atomic Alchemy for radioisotope production, possible paths to earlier revenue.

Energy Fuels mines and processes uranium and rare earth elements and sells physical output today. That near-term revenue would typically offer more protection from a higher discount rate, yet Energy Fuels stock is falling further than NuScale Power and Oklo shares.

A basket view helps explain the gap. The Global X Uranium ETF’s holdings include Oklo, NuScale Power and Energy Fuels alongside major uranium producers, physical uranium vehicles and enrichment companies, so its smaller decline reflects speculative developers making up only part of the weight. Still, the slide shows rate pressure reaching beyond pre-revenue developers.

Project Financing Is NuScale Power’s Open Question NuScale Power’s order pipeline is unaffected by the bond market, but rising financing costs could change which projects customers actually build. Demand from data centers, along with uses in industrial heat, hydrogen and desalination, supports the long-term bull case (we mapped five ways to play the nuclear restart, utilities and fuel included, in a free report here), while a pre-revenue reactor business leaves NuScale Power shares exposed to every move in rates.

Oklo faces the same financing math as it works toward first commercial power delivery from its Idaho site. For its part, NuScale Power has some flexibility, since its NuScale Power Module is a small pressurized water reactor built to scale into multi-module plants, letting customers phase in capacity.

Energy Fuels stock remains a puzzle, with shares of a company selling physical product today trading like a long-duration developer. When all is said and done, it’s not a bad idea to limit your exposure to these volatile nuclear-stock names for the time being.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

We called Oklo a buy and NuScale a strong buy when nuclear fever gripped the market, and the trade collapsed spectacularly. Here is what the bull case looks like after the wreckage, and whether anything has actually changed.

Key Takeaways OKLO's Groves-1 reactor got DOE startup authorization in July 2026 and achieved first criticality in August.OKLO completed substantial construction in 229 days, gaining experience to streamline future isotope projects.OKLO secured ytterbium-176 for cancer-treatment isotopes, while its Idaho lab may generate earlier revenues.
Oklo Inc. (OKLO - Free Report) is advancing its plans to establish a domestic isotope supply chain through its Groves-1 Isotope Test Reactor in Texas. The facility is designed to support the development of isotopes used in cancer treatments, manufacturing, scientific research and national security. The project has already cleared important regulatory and operational milestones, including startup authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) on July 23, 2026, and first criticality on Aug. 5, 2026.

OKLO developed Groves on privately owned land using private funding and commercially sourced equipment, alongside components manufactured by the company. The facility reached first criticality in just over 11 months from groundbreaking, with substantial construction completed in 229 days. The project provided experience in reactor construction, equipment installation, regulatory reviews and nuclear operations. Management plans to apply these lessons to future isotope facilities, potentially improving project execution and shortening development timelines.

OKLO is also strengthening its isotope supply chain. In September 2026, the company received two grams of enriched ytterbium-176, which can be converted into lutetium-177 through reactor irradiation. Lutetium-177 is used in targeted cancer treatments. Securing this material supports the company's efforts to develop domestic production capabilities and reduce reliance on overseas suppliers.

From an investment perspective, Groves gives OKLO practical operating experience to support its isotope business expansion. Management expects research-scale isotope production after further commissioning, while its NRC-licensed Idaho laboratory may generate earlier commercial revenues. Although commercial-scale production remains under development, these initiatives provide opportunities to expand OKLO's business beyond nuclear power generation.

The growing demand for reliable, carbon-free electricity is encouraging greater investment in advanced nuclear technologies. Alongside isotope production, the development of smaller nuclear reactors is creating opportunities to serve utilities, industrial customers and data centers.

Advanced Nuclear Reactor Developers Eye Growth OpportunitiesNuScale Power (SMR - Free Report) is among the leading developers of small modular reactor technology and is the first company to receive U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval for a design. NuScale Power is working with partners on projects in the United States and overseas, including Romania, while advancing plans to support large-scale power deployment. NuScale Power believes its modular reactors can deliver reliable, carbon-free electricity for utilities, industries and AI-driven data centers, keeping NuScale Power at the forefront of the commercial small modular reactor market.

NANO Nuclear Energy (NNE - Free Report) is focused on smaller microreactors through its KRONOS MMR design. The company is preparing to begin the NRC licensing process for its first deployment at the University of Illinois after its construction permit application is formally accepted. At the same time, NANO Nuclear is pursuing opportunities in AI data centers, industrial facilities and defense applications while expanding partnerships that could support future commercialization.

The Zacks Rundown on OKLOShares of Oklo have lost more than 80% over the past year.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

OKLO currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.92 on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 24 brokerage firms. 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

See how the Zacks Consensus Estimate for OKLO’s earnings has been revised over the past 90 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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There are only a handful of companies in the world worth more than $1 trillion, and Oklo (OKLO +0.38%) is nowhere near joining them. And yet if Oklo's ambitious plans for small nuclear reactors work out, it could become one of the most -- if not the most -- important energy companies in the U.S.

If it's successful, could Oklo possibly become a trillion-dollar company?

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No, Oklo probably won't become a trillion-dollar company I won't mince words: I doubt Oklo will ever have 12 zeros after its name. That doesn't make it a bad stock; it just means there will be a limit to its growth. That limit, I think, will be determined by how profitably Oklo can sell power.

The gist of Oklo's business is this: Sell electricity generated from small nuclear reactors. More precisely, Oklo is developing sodium-cooled fast reactors that use metallic nuclear fuel and are engineered to operate for a decade or longer without refueling. It has an insanely talented executive team -- including CEO Jacob DeWitte, who holds a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT -- as well as agreements with companies leading the way in developing AI infrastructure.

Image source: Oklo.

Small nuclear reactors, like Oklo's Aurora, have a smaller footprint and theoretically will take less time to build. They can also be mass-produced in factories, which should make them cheaper to build.

Whether Oklo's Aurora reactors will actually be cheaper remains to be seen, but even if they are cheaper to build, there's another lingering question: How much will it cost Oklo to operate them?

A preprint, titled "The consequences of high SMR costs in electricity markets," suggests the answer might not be encouraging.

This study, which hasn't undergone peer review, found that many small reactor developers would need to charge unusually high electricity prices to earn a profit. The reason? Fuel and operating costs will simply be too high.

The study puts it bluntly: "SMRs are uneconomical primarily because investment cost reductions are offset by increased marginal costs." In other words, a reactor that is relatively inexpensive to build can still be very expensive to operate. So expensive, in fact, that some customers might not be willing to pay the prices needed to make Oklo profitable.

Of course, high electricity prices won't scare away every customer. Indeed, some might be willing to pay a premium for the kind of around-the-clock, clean power that Oklo hopes to provide. In fact, the study even mentioned Oklo's older 15-megawatt (MW) Aurora model as one of the better-performing SMRs, suggesting its economics could be better than those of some competitors.

Still, that's hardly a guarantee of profitability, at least not at the level a trillion-dollar company would need to justify its valuation. Add to that all the other uncertainties -- building reactors, operating them safely, selling power to customers -- and the question of a trillion dollars pales in comparison to a more pressing one: Can it actually build a successful business in the first place?

For now, Oklo remains a speculative growth stock with no guarantee of success. Only aggressive investors who can stomach volatility should consider opening a small position.

NuScale and Oklo could shake up the nuclear energy market, but they haven't deployed any commercial reactors yet.  BWX is a safer, more diversified, and more profitable nuclear play in this wobbly market.

Uranium and advanced-reactor stocks are selling off as a single trade, and Energy Fuels (NYSEAMERICAN:UUUU) stock is taking the biggest blow among the group's most closely watched names. Energy Fuels stock is down 9%, trading at $10.

There is growing hype for nuclear energy stocks. The thesis is simple: Providers of artificial intelligence (AI) are investing aggressively to build data centers.

It's one of the biggest building booms in recent history. Data centers are energy-intensive, and because demand in many parts of the world has flatlined in recent years, current grid infrastructure isn't suited to handle a multiyear ramp-up in demand.

With more generation capacity needed, nuclear looks like an ideal solution. According to research by Goldman Sachs: "Nuclear power will be a key part of a suite of new energy infrastructure built to meet surging data-center power demand driven by artificial intelligence. In the U.S. alone, big tech companies have signed new contracts for more than 10 GW of possible new nuclear capacity in the last year, and Goldman Sachs Research sees potential for three plants to be brought on line by 2030."

Nuclear power is an ideal solution, given that it can deliver a huge amount of reliable, low-carbon electricity. But there's a problem: Nuclear power plants often cost billions of dollars to build, with construction sometimes stretching for a decade or more. AI companies need new power sources fast, and they want to avoid diverting capital away from building more computing infrastructure.

Experts increasingly view small modular reactors, or SMRs, as solutions to this challenge. Bank of America says, "[N]ew advancements in technology may now make the tipping point in sight for small modular reactors to reshape nuclear energy supply chains over the next decade." The bank sees five major advantages for SMRs: lower up-front costs, improved safety, lower carbon emissions, smaller footprints, and the ability to modularize.

Want to gain exposure to SMRs? Dozens of companies are pursuing the technology worldwide, but most are either privately held or part of a larger, more diversified conglomerate. Fortunately, three stocks with meaningful SMR exposure are currently publicly traded.

Oklo (OKLO -0.75%) is betting that AI providers will want to control their means of energy production. The company intends to finance and construct their own plants near data center infrastructure, selling the energy production to AI companies through long-term power purchase agreements.

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At the close of last year, Oklo's project backlog totaled 18.1 gigawatts. But 12 gigawatts of that total deal are with a single customer whose deal is largely nonbinding. Many of the company's other deals are also nonbinding, though a few have included milestone prepayments.

Oklo is directly backed by OpenAI founder Sam Altman and is an ideal pick for investors looking to bet directly on AI companies investing in SMR technology.

2. NuScale Power NuScale Power (SMR -0.51%) is taking a different approach to selling its SMR systems than Oklo is. Instead of selling directly to AI companies, it is taking a more traditional approach by selling to utility companies. This way, AI companies buy their power through the grid in a conventional manner, with utilities handling the power production.

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NuScale's backlog totals between 6 gigawatts and 7 gigawatts. But nearly all of that relates to a single utility customer in the eastern U.S. If built, that SMR system would become the biggest in the world.

As with Oklo, NuScale's backlog is largely nonbinding, leaving significant cancellation risk. But for those looking to invest in SMR technologies without reinventing the energy-delivery status quo, NuScale has the edge.

Image source: Getty Images

3. GE Vernova GE Vernova (GEV +0.13%) isn't as focused on SMRs as Oklo or NuScale are. The technology currently accounts for less than 3% of the company's sales. But as adoption heats up, SMRs could quickly become a meaningful contributor to sales. That's especially true given the quality of GE Vernova's backlog.

Construction of the company's 1.2-gigawatt SMR system in Darlington, Ontario, has already begun. Meanwhile, its 300-megawatt project in Tennessee received clearance for construction earlier this week.

GE Vernova has the highest quality backlog on this list. Its SMR exposure, however, is the weakest. Investors must weigh the importance of exposure against proven market traction.

Key Takeaways GE Vernova secured the first U.S. construction permit for its 300-MW BWRX-300 SMR design.Its growing BWRX-300 pipeline spans projects in the U.S. and Canada, supporting a repeatable platform.GE Vernova could generate lifecycle revenues from fuel, maintenance, engineering and other services. GE Vernova Inc. (GEV - Free Report) is taking another important step in expanding its nuclear power business after the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”) issued the first U.S. construction permit for its BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR - Free Report) design. The permit covers the Tennessee Valley Authority’s planned 300-megawatt BWRX-300 reactor at the Clinch River site in Tennessee, marking a regulatory milestone for GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy.

The approval is important because regulatory licensing is one of the biggest hurdles facing new nuclear technologies. It provides a regulatory foundation for the BWRX-300 in the United States and could make it easier to pursue additional projects using the same standardized design.

Strengthening the BWRX-300 PipelineGE Vernova's opportunity extends beyond a single reactor. The company is pursuing a broader deployment strategy for the BWRX-300, with Ontario Power Generation already constructing the first unit of the design at the Darlington site in Canada. Additional U.S. projects are progressing through the regulatory process.

This growing pipeline could give GE Vernova an important advantage as it seeks to establish the BWRX-300 as a repeatable SMR platform. Experience gained from early projects can be applied to subsequent reactors, including engineering, regulatory processes, procurement and construction.

Creating a Long-Term Nuclear Revenue OpportunityThe potential benefit for GE Vernova also goes beyond the initial sale and construction of an SMR. Its nuclear business spans reactor technology, nuclear fuel and related services, creating opportunities across the reactor lifecycle.

A growing installed base of BWRX-300 reactors could therefore generate demand for fuel, maintenance, engineering and other long-term services in addition to equipment and construction-related revenues.

If GE Vernova can successfully translate these early projects into a standardized fleet of reactors, the BWRX-300 could develop into a meaningful long-term growth platform for its nuclear business. The latest NRC approval therefore strengthens the company's position as it works to turn SMR technology into a scalable commercial opportunity.

Nuclear Expansion Creates Opportunity for CompaniesGE Vernova is at the center of the emerging SMR opportunity through its BWRX-300 technology, while the broader nuclear buildout could benefit companies involved in reactor components, engineering, fuel and nuclear infrastructure.

BWX Technologies (BWXT - Free Report) has one of the clearest links to GE Vernova's specific announcement. GE Vernova selected BWXT as the first member of its qualified BWRX-300 supplier group, and GE Hitachi subsequently awarded BWXT a contract to manufacture the reactor pressure vessel for the first BWRX-300 at Ontario's Darlington project.

The company has also been investing in manufacturing capacity to support growing demand for SMRs and other nuclear projects.

NuScale Power (SMR - Free Report) is advancing the commercialization of its small modular reactor technology, with its focus centered on the development and deployment of its VOYGR SMR power plants.

The company has been working with customers and partners on potential projects while progressing regulatory and engineering work for its reactor technology. NuScale's SMR design is intended to provide scalable nuclear generation, allowing customers to deploy reactor modules based on their power requirements.

Oklo Inc. (OKLO - Free Report) is developing its Aurora Powerhouse, an advanced fission power plant designed to provide reliable electricity from a compact nuclear system. The company is pursuing commercial deployment through agreements with potential customers, including large energy users seeking long-term power supplies.

Oklo has also been advancing its regulatory pathway and fuel strategy as it works toward its first commercial deployment. Progress on licensing, fuel availability, construction and customer commitments will be key developments as the company seeks to scale its advanced nuclear platform.

Key Takeaways OKLO's fuel center could involve $1.68B in investment and create more than 800 jobs.Licensing, engineering and NRC talks are underway, while Standard Nuclear could become another buyer.OKLO says recycling could recover up to 95% of fuel energy, but commercial profitability remains unproven. Oklo Inc. (OKLO - Free Report) is trying to make nuclear fuel recycling an important part of its business, not just a support service. Its planned Advanced Fuel Center in Oak Ridge, TN, would begin with a facility that reuses spent nuclear fuel. OKLO says the broader project could involve up to $1.68 billion of investment and create more than 800 jobs. The goal is to turn used fuel into material that can be used again in advanced reactors, including its Aurora powerhouses, while reducing dependence on outside fuel suppliers over time.

The project is still at an early stage, but OKLO has already started planning and regulatory work. The company says it has completed a licensing project plan and is in discussions with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It is also continuing facility design and engineering work. A June 2026 agreement with Standard Nuclear could create another buyer for recycled material, which may open a business opportunity beyond Oklo’s own reactors. OKLO also had about $3 billion in cash and marketable securities at June 30, providing financial flexibility despite losses.

The long-term opportunity could be meaningful because the United States has nearly 100,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel in storage. OKLO says its recycling approach could recover up to 95% of the energy still left in that fuel. The process is also designed to reduce the amount of waste needing long-term storage while avoiding a separate stream of pure plutonium. Still, the business case is not proven. OKLO must secure approvals, build the facility, control costs and show that fuel recycling can work profitably at commercial scale.

This strategy differs from the approach taken by larger nuclear utilities, which are generally focused on expanding generation capacity, extending plant lives and securing long-term fuel supplies. Their plans rely more on established utility infrastructure than on building an integrated fuel-recycling business.

Different Paths to Nuclear GrowthEntergy Corporation (ETR - Free Report) is taking a more traditional route to nuclear growth, focusing on its existing fleet and plant upgrades rather than fuel recycling. Entergy is exploring output increases and license extensions across its nuclear sites, while a Louisiana customer agreement includes funding for nuclear-related efforts tied to data-center demand. Entergy also continues investing in gas, renewables and storage, giving it several ways to add dependable power.

NextEra Energy (NEE - Free Report) is following a more conventional nuclear strategy centered on generation and contracted fuel supply rather than recycling. NextEra Energy plans to restart the 615-MW Duane Arnold plant in Iowa by early 2029 and has fuel contracts extending through 2033. The proposed Dominion merger, if completed, would further expand NextEra Energy’s regulated utility footprint, supporting a broader scale-driven approach to meeting rising electricity demand.

The Zacks Rundown on OKLOShares of Oklo have lost some 71.2% over the past year, underperforming the industry's modest decline.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

OKLO currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.92 on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 24 brokerage firms. 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

See how the Zacks Consensus Estimate for OKLO’s earnings has been revised over the past 90 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Oklo (OKLO +1.73%), a developer of microreactors, is attracting significant attention as a next-gen nuclear energy stock. Its Aurora microreactors are much smaller than conventional reactors, but they can be deployed in off-grid and remote areas.

They're also prefabricated at factories before being delivered to the site for modular assembly, making it much cheaper and easier to construct a nuclear power plant. Moreover, they need refueling only once per decade because they can reprocess and recycle their own uranium pellets, whereas conventional reactors are still refueled in stages every two years.

Image source: Getty Images.

Oklo's technology sounds like a game changer for the resurgent nuclear energy market, but it doesn't expect to deploy its first commercial reactors until late 2027 or early 2028. Until that happens, it will barely generate any revenue while racking up steep losses.

That's why it wasn't surprising when Oklo recently launched a $1 billion stock sale to fund that expansion. Is that a troubling move, or is it merely business as usual?

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How badly will Oklo's new stock offering dilute its investors? Oklo went public on May 10, 2024, through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Since then, it's increased its share count by 52%.

This May, Oklo launched its first $1 billion at-the-market (ATM) stock sale program. Over the following four months, it exhausted that program by selling 17.97 million shares at an average price of $55.64 per share. This new $1 billion ATM stock sale succeeds that program.

As of this writing, Oklo's stock trades at about $38. At that price, it would sell 26.3 million new shares, increasing its share count by 14% and diluting its existing investors 12%. That's not a good look for a company that already trades at 136 times its 2028 sales.

On the bright side, Oklo's stock sales actually reduce its debt-to-equity ratio (which was only 0.03 at the end of June) by increasing its share count rather than taking on more debt. The proceeds from its ATM sale will also flow directly to its balance sheet, without the burden of recurring interest payments associated with debt offerings. At this pre-commercialization stage, it makes more sense to dilute its existing investors than to increase its debt.

In the first half of 2026, Oklo generated just $1.2 million in revenue (from engineering, machining, and technical service contracts) with a net loss of $81.6 million. It still held $1.6 billion in cash and equivalents at the end of June (driven by its previous ATM stock offering), but it will burn through that cash much faster when it deploys its first Aurora Powerhouses next year. So while Oklo's persistent dilution isn't great news for its current investors, it will firmly support the initial phase of its commercial expansion.

A uranium miner just posted results that sent its stock surging far ahead of the broader nuclear pack, and the strategy behind its pricing power raises big questions about what happens if the uranium market turns.

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Uranium Energy (NYSEAMERICAN:UEC) is rallying after its fiscal 2026 results showed higher output and a strong realized uranium price. Following the report, Uranium Energy stock is at $9.77, up 6% in morning trading. The company’s result is also setting the tone for nuclear names across the group.

Reactor developers are drafting behind the move, though at a far slower pace. Oklo (NYSE:OKLO | OKLO Price Prediction) stock is at $37.63, up 1%, riding thematic read-across from the fuel side of the nuclear trade. Meanwhile, NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR) stock is at $8.04, up 2%, in a similar sympathy move.

Across the uranium complex, the Global X Uranium ETF (NYSEARCA:URA) is up 1%, trailing Uranium Energy stock by a wide margin. Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) is up 0.3%, leaving nuclear names well ahead of the broad market.

Unhedged Sales Deliver a Top Realized Uranium Price Uranium Energy reported results for the fiscal year that ended in July before the market opened, and the headline is operational scale. The company started production at Burke Hollow in South Texas and expanded wellfield infrastructure at Christensen Ranch in Wyoming, with a third mine under construction at Ludeman. In the release, Uranium Energy CEO Amir Adnani stated, “In fiscal 2026, UEC became a multi-mine uranium producer. Twelve months ago, we were producing from a single mine in Wyoming. Today, we are producing from two mines in two states.”

Fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 production rose sharply. On the operating side, Uranium Energy stated that output climbed from the prior quarter, while its total cost per pound fell as volumes climbed. The company’s unhedged sales strategy delivered a weighted average realized price of $93.13 per pound, which Uranium Energy believes is the highest among publicly traded uranium producers. Carrying no debt, Uranium Energy enters the new fiscal year able to fund its ongoing growth while holding most of its inventory as the market tightens.

Washington’s Demand Frames the Bull and Bear Cases Uranium Energy pointed to growing U.S. government demand for unobligated domestic-origin uranium, citing a request for information from the National Nuclear Security Administration. The company also highlighted the Army’s plan to deploy nuclear microreactors at military installations, adding a defense customer base to the demand picture.

The bull case for Uranium Energy rests on a realized price the company believes leads its listed peers, earned by holding inventory unhedged into a tightening market. Uranium Energy’s refining and conversion subsidiary adds a second leg, advancing a planned facility with its engineering partner while preparing a license application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

However, the same unhedged position leaves Uranium Energy’s revenue exposed to a uranium price the company deliberately refuses to lock in, so a weaker uranium market would flow straight into Uranium Energy’s realized pricing with no hedge book to cushion the hit.

Reactor Developers Ride the Read-Across Oklo and NuScale Power develop reactors, so a strong fuel-cycle result at Uranium Energy reaches both as thematic read-across on nuclear demand, and gains in Oklo stock and NuScale Power stock remain far smaller than the jump in Uranium Energy stock, a pattern consistent with a sympathy trade.

Centrus Energy sits closer to Uranium Energy on the fuel side as an enrichment supplier, which makes Centrus Energy a natural name to track alongside the miner. Taken together, the four span the nuclear chain. Uranium Energy, Centrus Energy, Oklo and NuScale Power stretch from mine to reactor, and we mapped out five of our favorite ways to play the restart, utilities and fuel included, in a free nuclear report here.

The Global X Uranium ETF is the tell. Whether it outperforms Uranium Energy stock or trails it shows if the market is repricing the whole theme or only the company that reported. For now, the fund’s gain sits well below the rally in Uranium Energy stock, which points toward a company-specific repricing tied to Uranium Energy’s results.

What to Watch Next Uranium Energy has now brought a second mine online and matched that growth with pricing power on its sales. The next test for the company is whether output keeps climbing as Ludeman comes together and if the conversion project passes its licensing steps.

Investors adding Uranium Energy stock after this rally should keep their positions moderate, since the unhedged model ties the company’s revenue directly to uranium price swings. A measured starting allocation lets their exposure grow only as Uranium Energy delivers on Ludeman and the conversion facility.

For Oklo and NuScale Power, the smaller moves reflect sentiment borrowed from Uranium Energy’s report, so shareholders should tie their allocation to each developer’s own milestones. Keeping Oklo and NuScale Power as modest slices of their holdings could help balance their risk while the fuel side of the trade proves itself.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

For investors who can stay invested in stocks for five to 10 years, nuclear energy stocks could present an enormous opportunity right now.

The reason goes beyond AI data centers. Although data centers are causing a massive scramble for power unlike any before, the clean energy nuclear reactors produce is also sought by other industries. High-energy factories, such as those that produce steel, cement, and chemicals, and remote industrial sites could all benefit from the around-the-clock power that nuclear reactors provide. Ditto for harbors, off-grid communities, and military bases.

Oklo (OKLO -0.65%) sits at the heart of this emerging nuclear market. The stock has tanked almost 50% in 2026, yet Oklo's opportunity hasn't changed. Could this still be the nuclear stock that makes investors rich? Let's take a look.

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Oklo could triple from today's price if it deploys 14 gigawatts (GW) Oklo is emerging from its former speculative cocoon into a company that really has a shot at selling power from nuclear reactors.

In a nutshell, Oklo wants to make money in three ways. It wants to sell power generated from its small reactors, which it calls Aurora powerhouses. These would be recurring power sales from power purchase agreements (PPAs), not unlike how electric utilities make money today. Additionally, it aims to generate revenue from fuel and radioisotope sales.

Image source: Oklo.

These three could combine to form a powerful revenue stream for Oklo, but deploying reactors will always be its biggest opportunity. Just take its current 14-gigawatt (GW) pipeline. If Oklo ultimately deployed that much and each reactor operated at 90% capacity, they would generate about 110 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. At $0.09 per kilowatt-hour -- roughly the average price U.S. industrial customers pay for electricity right now -- Oklo could generate almost $10 billion in annual revenue from this capacity alone.

If we start with $10 billion in annual revenue and factor in expected dilution, a three-times price-to-sales ratio -- roughly the average for electric utilities -- would put Oklo stock at roughly $130 per share -- about 225% above where it trades today.

It would, of course, take years to build that much capacity. But investors who have the patience to wait for Oklo to build out that fleet -- and perhaps grow it beyond 14 GW -- could one day be holding shares worth several times what they are today.

As more companies warm up to nuclear power, sales of these reactors could explode. Although communities may resist nuclear projects for safety reasons, the need for clean, reliable electricity from decarbonized sources could make reactors increasingly difficult to turn down.

That demand, in turn, would make Oklo a very profitable power company.

Still, there are many unknowns about nuclear energy, and I won't pretend its adoption won't come without friction, setbacks, and failures. Therefore, Oklo is not a stock to buy if uncertainty makes you very uncomfortable.

This uncertainty is compounded by the fact that the stock carries a $7.5 billion market cap; if Oklo became a $100 billion company, growing 13-fold, you would need to invest $75,000 today to turn it into $1 million. That's quite a lot to invest in a company with almost no revenue today.

That said, Oklo stock could generate market-beating returns over the next decade, even if explosive 100-bagger growth isn't likely. This might be a good nuclear stock to add to an already diversified portfolio, one of several that have long-term growth potential.

Oklo (OKLO -1.36%) is betting that small-scale nuclear power can play a big role in the future of energy. Its Aurora Powerhouses are advanced small modular reactors (SMRs) designed to make nuclear energy easier to deploy. But bringing first-of-a-kind fast-fission plants to market requires heavy spending for this early-stage company.

To fund that growth, Oklo has repeatedly turned to equity investors. This year alone, the company announced two at-the-market stock-sale programs, each for up to $1 billion. Here is how these stock sales impact Oklo investors.

Image source: Getty Images.

Oklo's stock sales have significantly diluted shareholders On Sept. 11, Oklo announced a $1 billion at-the-market (ATM) stock offering program. An ATM stock offering allows a company to sell newly issued shares into the secondary market over time. This is the second ATM offering program that Oklo has enacted in 2026. In May, the company approved a $1 billion ATM offering and sold nearly 18 million shares at an average price of $55.64.

For investors, ATM offerings mean your stake in the company becomes more diluted. That's because the offering creates new shares for sale in the market, diluting your equity interest in the company.

In another ATM offering in 2025, Oklo sold 12.4 million shares, raising about $1.2 billion. Since the start of 2025, Oklo's shares outstanding have risen from 137.7 million to 185 million, diluting shareholders' stakes by over 25%.

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Oklo is a speculative bet on the future of nuclear energy Early-stage companies like Oklo carry heavy risk. The company is working on advanced nuclear technology, but it will take years before it begins operating commercially. Until then, the company must work through regulatory hurdles, build out its supply chain, and secure fuel for its SMRs.

For those considering buying Oklo stock today, it's important to consider these high costs and dilution risks before investing.

Courtney Carlsen has positions in Oklo. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Oklo shares have been crushed over the past year, yet the company just pulled off something no other advanced nuclear startup has done at full scale. Whether that milestone is already priced in or barely noticed depends on which numbers…

Advanced nuclear is one of the few investment themes where the ceiling is defined by physics and grid capacity rather than market saturation. Oklo (NYSE:OKLO | OKLO Price Prediction) sits at the center of that story.

After a punishing year in the share price, our proprietary model sees meaningful room for a rebound. The stock trades at $38, and our 24/7 Wall St. price target is $87.11, implying 129.24% upside over 12 months. Recommendation: buy with moderate confidence.

24/7 Wall St. Price Target Summary Metric Value Current Price $38.00 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $87.11 Upside 129.24% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 50% A Brutal Year Meets a Genuine Milestone Oklo shares are down 63.8% over the past year and 47.05% year to date, falling from a 52-week high of $193.84 to $34.38. The one-month move is down 11.5%, though shares have ticked up 4.91% in the past week.

The operational story runs the other direction. On the Q2 2026 call, management said Groves “reached first criticality in early August 2026,” going from greenfield to criticality in “a little over 11 months from groundbreaking.” Oklo ended the quarter with $3 billion in cash and marketable securities, a war chest few pre-revenue peers can match.

Why Bulls See a Breakout Ahead The bull case rests on demand scale and execution speed. Oklo’s pipeline sits at roughly 14 GW, anchored by a 12 GW master power agreement with Switch, a 500 MW LOI with Equinix carrying a $25M prepayment, and Aurora Ohio’s planned 1.2 gigawatt campus with Kiewit.

Goldman Sachs projects AI data center power demand up 165% by 2030. CEO Jacob DeWitte framed fuel as “not a constraint; it’s an opportunity.” Bull-case scenario points to $162.78 if Aurora INL hits 2028 startup and additional LOIs convert.

Risks Worth Watching Oklo is pre-revenue. FY24 net loss was $73.62M, and 2026 cash burn guidance was raised to $120 million to $150 million for operations plus $400 to $500 million for property, plant, and equipment.

Most customer agreements remain non-binding LOIs. Bulls counter that higher spend reflects accelerated procurement at Aurora INL and opportunistic fuel purchases. Bear-case scenario lands at $70.26, above today’s price.

How Oklo Compares to BWXT and NuScale BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT) is the mature counterpoint: a $13.48 billion market-cap nuclear manufacturer generating $901.6 million in Q2 2026 revenue with raised full-year non-GAAP EPS guidance of $4.70 to $4.80. BWXT shows what nuclear cash flow looks like at scale; its premium supports the reasonableness of our Oklo target on an option-value basis.

NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR) is the closest SMR peer at $3.39 billion market cap, with Q2 2026 revenue of just $75,000 and -21.9 operating margin. Oklo trades at roughly twice NuScale’s cap despite similar pre-commercial status, but Groves criticality and $3 billion in liquidity justify the gap. Against this peer set, our $87.11 target looks reasonable.

Oklo Price Prediction 2026-2030 Our 24/7 Wall St. price target of $87.11 reflects a buy with 50% confidence. Groves is the tipping factor. Oklo has designed, built, licensed, and operated a full-scale reactor, changing the risk profile of every future project.

The setup favors investors who can absorb 2027 to 2028 execution risk on Aurora INL. Those unwilling to tolerate additional equity dilution or an NRC delay may prefer to wait. (For readers weighing broader exposure to the restart, we mapped five ways to play it, utilities and fuel included, in a free nuclear report.)

Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $46.28 2027 $87.11 2028 $157.00 2029 $232.33 2030 $313.34 These projections assume Aurora INL delivers commercial power on the current late-2027 to 2028 timeline and that customer LOIs convert to binding PPAs. Significant upside or downside could come from HALEU fuel availability, NRC licensing pace, or the trajectory of AI data center power demand.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Nuclear reactor developers are bouncing back Monday after last week's brutal selloff, but the bid is landing in a very specific corner of the sector, and the reason why reveals exactly how this trade is being played.

Nuclear developers are catching a bid Monday morning after last week’s selloff, and the strongest part of the bounce is landing on the small modular reactor names rather than spreading evenly across the wider uranium and nuclear complex. The move arrives with no company announcement from any of the three named developers, and no fresh sector catalyst has been verified for the session either.

The Global X Uranium ETF (NYSEARCA:URA) is at $42.62, up 2%, running well ahead of the tape. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) is up 0.79% at $767.68, so today’s rebound is a sector story rather than a broad-market lift carrying the uranium and nuclear names along.

Oklo (NYSE:OKLO | OKLO Price Prediction) stock is up 5% to $39.84, leading the reactor developers on a session with no fresh company news attached. Meanwhile, NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR) stock is up 4% to $8.63, moving in near lockstep with Oklo on the same policy exposure. Uranium Energy (NYSEAMERICAN:UEC) stock is up 3% to $10.14, gaining less than the reactor names as an upstream fuel supplier rather than a builder of reactors.

Oklo Stock Carries Its Own Bounce Oklo hasn’t announced anything new alongside today’s move, and nothing about Oklo’s projects, permits or funding has changed between last week’s decline and this morning’s rebound. What the group has done is round-trip a policy trade inside a single week: nuclear names rallied hard midweek on a House vote covering data center power costs, then handed the advance back on Friday, and Oklo is now clawing part of it back.

That pattern reads as an oversold bounce in a theme trading on policy expectation rather than operating results. Oklo is a development-stage company whose value rests on reactors that aren’t yet in commercial service, so a week of this kind of trading tells a reader more about market positioning than about the underlying business.

The move for Oklo also has to be weighed against how much ground the stock has already given up. Even after today’s bounce, Oklo shares sit well below their recent highs, and a single morning of gains doesn’t undo a longer stretch of pressure on the group (we picked five ways to play the nuclear restart, reactor developers and fuel suppliers included, in a free nuclear guide).

What the Peer Group Says About Oklo With the uranium fund’s advance running ahead of the broad market, today reads as a sector-wide bid rather than a story tied to any one name in Oklo’s group. All three of the named companies are rising by more than the fund, which places the strongest part of the bid in the reactor developers rather than spread evenly across uranium and nuclear as a whole.

Oklo and NuScale Power are both small modular reactor developers, so their exposure to a policy expectation is identical, which is why Oklo and NuScale Power are moving together on a day with no company news at either. Uranium Energy sits further upstream in fuel supply rather than reactor construction, and Uranium Energy is rising by less than both reactor names, which fits the pattern that the bid is concentrated where the policy-trade sensitivity is highest.

The read-across for Oklo is straightforward: the market is treating the reactor developers as one basket on policy days, and Oklo’s outperformance today is modest relative to NuScale Power’s rather than a company-specific vote of confidence. On a session with no news, that is what a policy-driven bounce in the group looks like.

What to Watch Next The next test for Oklo stock is whether the morning bid holds through the close or fades the way Friday’s session did. A price that can give back a policy rally in one session and reclaim part of it in the next is being set by positioning rather than by progress, and it can reverse as easily in the other direction.

Investors weighing Oklo here can decide whether to treat this group as a policy trade to be sized for volatility or as a long-duration buildout story where a week of noise is irrelevant. Choosing the first framing argues for keeping their position small enough to absorb another round trip without forcing an exit. Traders may want to check for whether Oklo’s morning gain holds through midday before adding to their exposure.

For Oklo specifically, a bounce that runs with the sector rather than out in front of it doesn’t change the setup, since Oklo remains a policy-sensitive, pre-revenue story rather than a name driven by operating cash flow. Shareholders who already own Oklo can hold their positions through this kind of noise without chasing on green days. Market watchers may want to keep an eye on whether Oklo can hold the level it’s reclaiming today before committing new capital.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Oklo (OKLO -3.86%), a developer of microreactors for nuclear power plants, went public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) on May 10, 2024. Its stock opened at $15.50 per share, reached a record high of $174.14 on Oct. 14, 2025, but it now trades at about $38. It was difficult to value because it had neither deployed its first commercial reactors nor generated any meaningful revenue yet.

Nevertheless, analysts expect Oklo's revenue to rise to $2 million in 2026, $8 million in 2027, and $53 million in 2028 as it finally brings its first Aurora Powerhouse reactors online. Let's review Oklo's strategy for those reactors -- and how they could shake up the resurgent nuclear industry.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why could the Aurora be a game changer? Oklo's Aurora microreactor is much smaller than conventional nuclear reactors. It generates only 1.5 MWe on its own, but it's designed to be deployed alongside additional microreactors to build smaller nuclear plants capable of generating up to 75 MWe.

That's not much power compared to a conventional nuclear power plant, which typically generates over 1,000 MWe. However, the Aurora's modular design enables the construction of nuclear power plants in remote, off-grid areas with challenging terrain. They're also prefabricated in factories, making them cheaper to deploy and reducing construction time.

That's an appealing option for data center operators constrained by traditional power grids. Their smaller design also makes them safer because they're easier to shut down.

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The Aurora uses metallic uranium fuel pellets, which are denser, have higher thermal conductivity, and are cheaper to produce than the uranium dioxide fuel pellets used in conventional reactors. The Aurora only needs to be refueled about once per decade because it recycles and reprocesses its pellets in a closed loop. Conventional reactors, which can't recycle their nuclear waste, still need to be refueled in stages every two years.

Oklo will directly manage its own plants and sell its power as a "behind the meter" (BTM) service to its customers. That business model bypasses traditional utilities and delivers electricity more quickly to the power-hungry cloud infrastructure and AI markets.

What is Oklo's roadmap for the next few years? The biggest near-term catalyst for Oklo will be the deployment of its first Aurora Powerhouse microreactors (configured at 15-50 MWe) in Idaho in late 2027 or early 2028.

It took several major steps toward that goal this year. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved Oklo's Principal Design Criteria for the Aurora in June, and it achieved criticality (a controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction) at Groves One, its first pilot isotope-production reactor, in early August. It also deployed Groves One in just 229 days, marking the fastest construction of a U.S. non-military reactor in recent history.

Oklo's partnership with Meta Platforms (META -1.67%), which was announced this January, aims to deliver 1.2 GW of power at its nuclear campus in Ohio. The initial phases of that project should come online around 2030. It's also working to convert its multi-gigawatt pipeline of non-binding letters of intent (LOIs) and pre-agreements (including a massive 14 GW agreement with Switch) into firm Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

To support that expansion, Oklo signed an LOI to purchase a steady supply of HALEU (High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium) from Centrus Energy (LEU -2.91%). Since Centrus is one of the only companies authorized to produce and enrich HALEU in the United States, that partnership should protect Oklo from future overseas supply chain disruptions.

But is Oklo worth its premium valuation? With a market cap of $7.4 billion, Oklo already trades at 139 times its 2028 sales. Any delays for its Idaho project could easily deflate that high price-to-sales ratio.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently predicted that global nuclear capacity could triple by 2060, leaving plenty of room for Oklo to grow over the next few decades if it successfully scales its business. But it also faces competition from other microreactors and small modular reactors (SMRs), which are larger but also target the AI power market.

Oklo might be worth nibbling on today, but it's still a risky, speculative stock that has a lot to prove. Investors should carefully evaluate its core strategies before buying any shares.

An exciting new nuclear stock, Holtec International, was supposed to debut on public markets this week in an IPO expected to raise around $900 million. It would have been one of the largest nuclear energy IPOs of 2026.

On Sept. 16, Holtec's CEO officially scrapped the IPO. According to the Financial Times, "the IPO had been suspended because of the market's sharp turn against the AI data centre economy in the past few weeks."

"It's like a perfect storm," Holtec's CEO explained. "Our business, rightly or wrongly, is viewed as connected to it [data centres]. We provide nuclear power. So that was, of course, a big factor in market sentiment against nuclear."

Importantly, Holtec is not a developer of nuclear energy systems. Its mostly a supplier of nuclear components, including specialized containers to store nuclear waste. But the company intended to use its IPO proceeds to support a strategy pivot. The new focus would seek to restart a mothballed nuclear facility in Michigan as well as pursue the development of small modular reactors, or SMRs.

SMR stocks such as Oklo Inc. (OKLO +11.31%) and NuScale Power (SMR +8.92%) have struggled mightily this year. Oklo shares are down nearly 50% this year, with NuScale stock dropping around 45%.

Does Holtec's cancelled IPO portend more bad news for Oklo and NuScale? There are two important things to keep in mind.

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1. Holtec expects to attempt another IPOHoltec hasn't completely dropped its plans to go public. According to the Financial Times, the company expects to "retain its IPO registration and could try to float again within three to six months, depending on market conditions."

That's because the main driver for renewed interest in nuclear power -- namely, the AI industry's rapidly rising demands for low-carbon baseload power -- isn't going away anytime soon. McKinsey & Co. predicts $7 trillion will be deployed globally to build energy-intensive AI data centers by 2030.

Market sentiment for SMR stocks in particular has waned in 2026. But last year, both Oklo and NuScale Power shares hit all-time highs. If and when SMR enthusiasm returns, expect Holtec to renew its IPO interest.

Image source: The Motley Fool

2. Government support for SMRs is risingSmall modular reactors have received several positive updates this month regarding government support.

In early September, the European Investment Bank (EIB) -- the lending arm of the European Union -- announced a €40 million loan to Steady Energy, an SMR developer based in Finland. According to reports, the EIB expects to make more loans to SMR developers in the future.

Then, on Sept. 16, the U.S. House of Representatives pass the Ratepayer Protection Act. The measure passed in a landslide: 417 votes to 3. In essence, the act requires large energy users such as data centers to pay for their power needs versus spreading the rate increase across all of a utility's users. This shifts more of the cost burden to data center operators, increasing the attractiveness of dedicated, independent power sources such as SMRs.

Oklo's strategy of pitching directly to AI and data center companies should benefit more than NuScale's focus on delivering power through existing utilities. But the move sent both stocks higher by roughly 10% after the news was announced.

Holtec's shelved IPO creates reason for concern. But SMR stocks received equally positive news this week, tempering any cause for panic.

Corient Private Wealth LP lessened its stake in shares of Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO – Free Report) by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 181,698 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,055 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP owned about 0.10% of Oklo worth $9,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Oklo by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,956,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,902,000 after purchasing an additional 481,288 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Oklo by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,816,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,671,000 after acquiring an additional 185,265 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Oklo during the fourth quarter worth $73,786,000. Clear Street Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oklo by 110.5% during the 4th quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. now owns 842,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,434,000 after buying an additional 442,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Oklo by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 505,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,306,000 after purchasing an additional 24,923 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets In other Oklo news, CEO Jacob DeWitte sold 140,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.98, for a total transaction of $7,417,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 478,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,326,506.22. The trade was a 22.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Vivek Narayanadas sold 3,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.77, for a total value of $129,809.28. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 7,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,080.94. The trade was a 29.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 362,030 shares of company stock worth $16,851,123 in the last three months. Insiders own 12.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of brokerages have issued reports on OKLO. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Oklo from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Oklo from $82.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Oklo from $125.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Oklo in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Oklo in a report on Thursday, June 25th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.26. Get Our Latest Research Report on Oklo

Oklo Stock Down 1.1% OKLO opened at $35.58 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.88. Oklo Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.38 and a twelve month high of $193.84. The stock has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.85 and a beta of 1.18.

Oklo (NYSE:OKLO – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.09 million. Oklo’s revenue for the quarter was up 11900.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Oklo Inc. will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Oklo News Here are the key news stories impacting Oklo this week:

Positive Sentiment: European government support for SMRs is improving the industry’s long-term outlook. A €40 million European Investment Bank loan to an SMR developer could be the first step toward broader public-sector investment, potentially expanding the market for Oklo’s advanced nuclear systems, although the financing is not a contract for Oklo. Europe Bets Big on Small Modular Reactors Neutral Sentiment: Investors are watching execution at Oklo’s Aurora project, the Idaho-based Grove facility and its Ohio strategy involving Meta and Centrus. Progress could validate the company’s commercialization path, but meaningful revenue and profitability may still be several years away. Three Tests for Oklo Investors Neutral Sentiment: Oklo’s customer pipeline remains attractive, particularly for data centers and other users seeking reliable low-carbon power. However, analysts note that real-world SMR adoption remains unproven, making project milestones and regulatory progress more important than the pipeline alone. Catalyst for Oklo Investors Negative Sentiment: Oklo’s planned $1 billion stock sale has heightened dilution concerns and reinforced worries that the company will need substantial capital before reaching commercial operations. Investors are increasingly focused on whether its go-to-market timeline can justify the funding needs. Oklo Stock and the $1 Billion Share Sale Negative Sentiment: Director John M. Jansen sold 6,354 shares for approximately $233,000, reducing his direct ownership by 51.43%. While one insider sale does not establish a broader trend, it can weigh on investor sentiment. SEC Insider Sale Filing Oklo Profile (Free Report)

Oklo Inc is an advanced nuclear technology company focused on developing and commercializing small-scale fission power plants. The company’s flagship product, the Aurora powerhouse, is designed to provide reliable, long-term electricity and heat using advanced nuclear reactor technology. Oklo is targeting applications such as industrial operations, data centers, defense facilities and other customers that require dependable, low-carbon energy.

Oklo is also developing fuel-recycling capabilities intended to use certain forms of nuclear fuel more efficiently and reduce the volume of nuclear waste requiring disposal.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Oklo 3 Luxury Consumer Brands to Watch in a Beaten-Down Sector Jackson’s Record Quarter Powers the Bull Case Holiday Shopping Is Almost Here—And Target May Be Ready to Win Big AI Panic Hit Tech Stocks—But NVIDIA’s Growth Engine Is Intact Want to see what other hedge funds are holding OKLO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO – Free Report).

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Oklo (OKLO -0.64%) specializes in small modular reactors, or SMRs. SMRs are essentially miniature nuclear power plants that can be built more quickly and at lower upfront costs than traditionally sized nuclear facilities.

The concept of SMRs has been around for decades. Yet only two SMR systems have ever been built. That's because on a per-megawatt basis, SMRs are more expensive than larger nuclear systems. The main advantage has been the speed of construction, which historically hasn't been highly valued.

Image source: Getty Images.

Speed, however, is now in high demand as AI companies race to build more energy-intensive data center infrastructure. Yet Oklo's stock price has fallen nearly 50% since 2026 began. That's because markets aren't yet confident that the company's impressive customer pipeline will ever convert into real-world projects. That's why I'm waiting for an upcoming catalyst before jumping into this beleaguered nuclear stock.

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This catalyst could kick-start SMR momentum If Oklo's share price weakness is a reflection of market skepticism over SMR adoption, an upcoming catalyst from SMR competitor NuScale Power (SMR -0.94%) could reverse negative sentiment. NuScale has a non-binding deal with a major U.S. utility to build the largest SMR system in the world. No financial commitments have been made, however. That could change by the end of this year, when NuScale's CFO predicts a binding power purchase agreement could be forged.

Oklo's long-term future will still be reliant on its ability to secure regulatory approvals, convert its customer pipeline into revenue-generating projects, and execute these deals on time and on budget. If NuScale is able to secure financial commitments from its biggest partner, however, expect a surge of bullish sentiment to flow through the entire SMR sector. Investors may have to buy Oklo at a higher price, but they can be much more confident in the viability of SMR technology in general, and thus Oklo's long-term business strategy.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Oklo (OKLO +0.18%) has fallen sharply from its highs, but its operating story is starting to catch up. Groves, Aurora, and the Meta and Centrus-backed Ohio strategy could determine whether this nuclear stock has a credible path back toward $100.

Stock prices used were the market prices of Aug. 27, 2026. The video was published on Sept. 12, 2026.

Rick Orford has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.