NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) stock is unstoppable — it surged 28% this week to an all-time high of $29.52 per share at its highest point in trading through Friday noon, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The nuclear energy stock is now up a whopping 50% in November, after rallying 65% in October. Why is NuScale Power stock soaring higher and higher?
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Investors in NuScale Power are betting big on the company’s potential growth as the U.S. continues to take measures to boost the domestic nuclear energy industry. Last week, the White House announced its intention to “at least” triple U.S. nuclear energy production by 2050. Plans include supporting the development of small modular reactors (SMRs).
That’s what NuScale Power is also all about — it is building scalable SMRs to provide low-cost, reliable, carbon-free electricity. SMRs are significantly smaller and can be built at locations not suitable for traditional nuclear reactors.
This week, investors in nuclear energy stocks like NuScale Power found another reason to bet more money: President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the next secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE), Chris Wright.
Things get interesting at this point.
Wright is the CEO of Denver-based fracking company Liberty Energy and a staunch supporter of fossil fuels. In a video posted on LinkedIn in 2023, Wright even said, “there is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition either.”
So while climate change activists believe Trump as the president is bad news for the renewable energy industry, the nuclear energy industry should still thrive since the energy source has found support from both the Republicans and the Democrats.
NuScale Power still has a long way to go as the company could still take years to commercialize its flagship “VYOGR” SMR plant. Yet, NuScale Power’s story is exactly the kind that excites aggressive investors — a start-up building a technology that could be a huge thing if proven. To investors’ — and NuScale’s — credit, the company has won some DOE cost-share awards, and its SMR design is the first to be certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Long story short, SMRs and NuScale Power have solid potential, but only if the technology is proven and feasible. Like it or not, NuScale Power stock remains a speculative bet that isn’t for the faint of heart.
