Nuclear Stocks Drop as Piper Sandler Issues Mixed Ratings on Oklo, NuScale Power, X-Energy
Shares of nuclear energy companies including Oklo (OKLO), NuScale Power (SMR), and X-Energy (XE) fell by approximately 5% in trading after Piper Sandler analyst Dimple Gosai issued divergent ratings for the sector. While she initiated a Buy rating on Oklo with a $55 price target, citing its bankable business model, she assigned a Sell rating to X-Energy with a $9 price target due to higher customer risk exposure. The selloff was concentrated within the nuclear and uranium sectors, as evidenced by a 3% drop in the Global X Uranium ETF (URA), while broader market indicators like SPY only declined slightly. Gosai emphasized that financing structures—not reactor technology—will determine which small modular reactor developers can successfully build their first plants. Oklo is targeting commercial power production at its Aurora plant between late 2027 and early 2028, backed by a significant customer pipeline including Switch. NuScale Power holds the only U.S. NRC design certification in the SMR industry with $1.9 billion in cash as of Q2 2026.
