Nuclear-power startup Oklo soared in Wednesday's stock market after the company announced it has been selected by the Department of Defense to deploy its emerging nuclear reactor technology at the Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. After the market closed, Oklo reported it is commencing a public offering of $400 million in common shares, with an underwriters option to purchase up to an additional $60 million of common shares.
Oklo surged 29.7% to 68.12, hitting an all-time high of 68.91 intraday, during Wednesday's stock market action. The stock dropped more than 5% after the close on the news of its public offering.
Oklo said late Wednesday that the proceeds of the offering will be used for "general corporate purposes, working capital and capital expenditures and potential future investments." The company added that the "offering is subject to general market conditions, and there can be no assurances as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the size or terms of the offering" but that it is expected to close on June 16, 2025.
Oklo's Nuclear Deal
During regular stock market trade Wednesday, Oklo along with other nuclear-related stocks jumped on news of its government deal.
Chief Executive Jacob DeWitte said in the press release Wednesday that this agreement with the Department of Defense and the Department of the Air Force "reflects continued confidence in Oklo's ability to deliver clean and secure energy solutions for mission-critical infrastructure."
"We are honored to support national defense resilience objectives while demonstrating the value of U.S.-pioneered fast reactor technology," DeWitte said.
Oklo will build, own, and operate the facility and William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer expects a 30-year power purchase agreement under the deal.
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"We believe this announcement is a direct result of the White House's executive order promoting advanced nuclear reactors for DoD and national security interests, which created a new streamlined regulatory pathway that bypasses the NRC all together," Dorsheimer wrote Wednesday.
"This Eielson and Oklo engagement was previously announced back in August 2023, but then rescinded a month later as the regulatory red tape tightened, citing the first pilot facility required significant scrutiny and coordination from all agencies. This is prime evidence of the over-burdensome regime that has thwarted nuclear adoption until now, and how quickly red tape can be cut back," the analyst added.
Oklo, which until recently had the involvement of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is looking to bring its first commercial small modular reactor, or SMR, online in late 2027 or early 2028.
Currently there are no SMRs in commercial operation.
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President Donald Trump in late May signed four executive orders to support the nuclear energy sector and put in place a "total and complete reform" of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC. The executive orders also look to speed up the deployment of new nuclear power reactors in the U.S.
The May 23 executive orders directed the government to cut down on regulations and fast-track licenses for reactors and power plants to shrink a multiyear process to 18 months, the Financial Times reported.
The executive orders from the Trump White House also create a regulatory framework for the departments of Energy and Defense to build nuclear reactors on federal land.
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The Trump White House defines AI as a national security objective and stipulates that the Departments of Energy and Defense work with the private sector to accelerate deployments of SMRs, to power AI.
The Trump executive orders also target increased U.S. uranium mining and looks to expand domestic uranium enrichment capacity.
Stocks Soar On Oklo News
For the 2025 stock market, Oklo stock is up more than 200% after booking a 122% gain in May. The stock jumped 101% in 2024. But the gain involved some wild gyrations.
Meanwhile, S&P 500 nuclear stocks Constellation Energy and Vistra edged up 0.4% and 1.3%, respectively.
SMR-focused NuScale Power jumped 20.6% and Nano Nuclear Energy was up 12.2% in stock market trade Wednesday
Canada-based uranium refiner Cameco advanced 3.9% on Wednesday to 66.34. Cameco also has direct exposure to small-modular-reactor nuclear technology through its shared ownership of Westinghouse.
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Cameco stock is above a traditional 62.27 buy point from a cup-with-handle base, according to MarketSurge weekly chart analysis.
Uranium miner Centrus Energy moved about 8.5% higher and Energy Fuels, a uranium exploration and mining play, edged up 1.4%.
Big Tech has been bullish on investing in SMRs as a way to power data centers to train artificial intelligence models.
In September and October, Amazon.com, Alphabet and Oracle all announced investments in developing a new breed of power plant SMRs. No operating SMRs now exist, but a number of companies are developing the technology.
SMRs aim to provide power at the site level, drastically reducing the time and cost of permitting, constructing and operating full-scale nuclear facilities.
Oklo stock has a 92 Composite Rating. The stock also has a perfect 99 Relative Strength Rating. The nuclear stock has a 49 EPS Rating.
Please follow Kit Norton on X @KitNorton for more coverage.
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