Oklo Inc (NYSE:OKLO) shares are trending Wednesday morning after the company announced ongoing fast-spectrum reactor experiments at a U.S. Department of Energy site. Here’s what investors need to know.
- Oklo stock is building positive momentum. What’s driving OKLO shares up?
What Happened: Oklo on Wednesday said it has been conducting multi-day plutonium fast reactor critical tests with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) at the DOE’s National Criticality Experiments Research Center.
The reactor experiments are being performed under a strategic partnership project aimed at validating plutonium as an advanced reactor bridge fuel and ultimately qualifying surplus plutonium as fuel for commercial advanced reactors.
A series of low-power experiments on the Flattop fast-spectrum critical assembly were carried out at the site, demonstrating the inherent safety features of a plutonium-fueled fast-spectrum system. Oklo said this represents the first public technical milestone for its Pluto reactor, a plutonium-fueled fast test reactor project.
“By working with LANL—the worldwide leader in plutonium science—at DOE’s NCERC facility, we are generating the modern benchmark data needed to qualify surplus plutonium as a bridge fuel for advanced reactors, strengthening U.S. energy dominance, supporting the near-term deployment of clean, reliable capacity, and eliminating material that would otherwise remain in long-term storage,” said Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and CEO of Oklo.
One of the challenges to deploying new nuclear reactors is a shortfall in domestic nuclear fuel production. The project ultimately aims to help Oklo build new reactors more quickly and bring clean power online sooner, DeWitte said.
Oklo has laid out timelines for deployment of its first nuclear plant in late 2027 or early 2028, but the company is working on multiple efforts to speed up the process.
Training and running AI models is driving historic levels of power demand, far beyond what today’s grid can support. Traditional energy sources cannot scale fast enough to keep up with the exponential growth of AI, which is where Oklo and other nuclear-focused companies come into play.
Oklo shares have soared this year on excitement around nuclear power for AI energy needs, but shares have pulled back sharply from recent highs amid profit-taking and concerns around AI valuations.
Still, analysts are largely optimistic on Oklo stock over the next year, with Seaport Global most recently upgrading the stock to Buy and setting a price target of $150 following the pullback in shares.
Needham also initiated coverage with a Buy rating and set a price target of $135 earlier this month, while UBS maintained a Neutral rating and raised its price target to $95 in early December.
Other recent analyst changes include a Buy from B. Riley with a price target increase to $129, an Outperform from Wedbush with a price target of $150 and a Neutral rating from BofA with a price target cut to $111, still well above current levels.
OKLO Price Action: Oklo shares were up 1.37% at $84.65 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro.
Oklo is currently trading below its key moving averages, indicating a bearish short-term trend. The stock is 10.2% below its 20-day SMA, 27.5% below its 50-day SMA, and 17.5% below its 100-day SMA, which suggests that traders should be cautious about potential downside risks.
With an RSI of 38.55, the stock is in neutral territory, but it’s edging closer to oversold conditions. This level indicates that momentum is weakening, and traders should watch for any signs of a reversal. While MACD is below its signal line, which points to bearish pressure on the stock, the stock is trading near key support at $79, which could signal a potential bounce back in shares.
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