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NuScale Power is attempting to sell its first small modular nuclear reactor.
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The stock’s 52-week high is $53, and the 52-week low is roughly $13.
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Is NuScale Power’s stock a buy now that it is closer to the lower end than the higher end of its 52-week range?
NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) has a very exciting technology around which it is attempting to build a business. The problem is that it still hasn’t made its first official sale. Is it worth buying the stock while it’s trading below $24, or is the risk just too high right now?
NuScale Power has designed a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR). SMR technology could be an important step forward for the nuclear power industry. Traditional large-scale, site-built nuclear power plants are massive capital investment projects that require a lot of time to construct. The most recent U.S. nuclear power plants to be built, Vogtle 3 and 4, were years late and wildly over budget.
An SMR is built in a factory, which is intended to make the building process safer and quicker. The smaller size of an SMR should make it less costly to build. A unit’s size should also allow an SMR to be placed closer to population centers and easily transported where needed. The modular design would also allow SMRs to be linked to create larger power plants, which might interest electric utility customers.
SMRs would still be significant capital investments, but the benefits are alluring. For example, a data center supporting artificial intelligence, which uses a huge amount of electricity, could have its own dedicated SMR. That would save the data center from having to be connected to the power grid, a process that can take a long time and cause criticism because of the huge power demand of AI.
NuScale Power has exciting technology to offer the world. What it doesn’t have yet is a customer. This is a significant problem, as it needs to demonstrate that its SMRs work. The first official sale is likely to be a big turning point for the business, since it will likely make other customers more comfortable with NuScale’s SMR technology.
NuScale Power has two potential customers lined up. A Romanian power company is currently considering up to six NuScale SMRs. NuScale is generating some revenue by offering consulting services to RoPower and engineering and construction company Fluor (NYSE: FLR) in the assessment effort. A final decision isn’t expected until late in 2026 or in early 2027, roughly a year beyond earlier expectations.
