Nuclear power has its pros and cons. For the time being, America seems to be embracing its advantage.
Earlier this week, Georgia Power announced that its Vogel Unit 3 reactor had safely reached ‘early critical’.
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“A reactor becomes critical when a nuclear fission reaction becomes self-sustaining,” the company said in a statement. “Achieving initial criticality is necessary to continue the startup of the unit to generate sufficient heat for power generation.”
Scott Burnell, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told CNBC that this is the first nuclear reactor to achieve initial critical capacity since May 2016.
Georgia Power expects Vogel Unit 3 to be fully in service in May or June of this year.
The company’s CEO said the unit should be able to produce “clean and emission-free energy for the next 60 to 80 years”.
Given the global energy crisis, more nuclear reactors may come online. So for savvy investors, this might be a good time to check out some nuclear energy stocks. Here’s a look at two like Wall Street analysts — and another way to gain exposure if you don’t want to pick winners and losers.
Cameco
Uranium is the most widely used fuel by nuclear power plants. That’s why Cameco (CCJ) — a major uranium producer — is well positioned if nuclear power becomes a more important source of electricity generation.
Cameco operates uranium mines in Canada, the US and Kazakhstan. The business is supported by long-term contracts with customers around the world, with sales averaging £21 million a year over the next five years.
In addition to mining uranium, Cameco also provides fuel services to nuclear power plants.
In 2022, the company’s revenue will increase by 27%.
Although Cameco is headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, its shares trade on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
Raymond James analyst Brian MacArthur has an ‘outperform’ rating on Cameco’s Canadian-listed shares and recently raised the price target to C$48 — about 34% above where the stock sits today.
Read more: Here’s how much money the average middle-class American family makes – How do you deposit?
newscale power
NuScale Power (SMR) develops small modular nuclear power reactors for electricity generation.
The business began in 2002 as a university research project. In 2020, it became the first company to have its small modular reactor design approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
NuScale Power has a number of projects planned ahead. Specifically, it will build a six-module plant at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls that will generate 462 megawatts of carbon-free electricity. The plant is expected to be fully operational by 2030.
Guggenheim analyst Shaharyar Poureza has a ‘Buy’ rating and $18 price target on Nuscale Power. Since the stock is trading at around $10.10 today, the price target implies a potential upside of 78%.
ETF
Exchange-traded funds have been gaining popularity in recent years. You can think of an ETF as a portfolio of stocks. And because ETFs trade on major exchanges, it’s very convenient for investors to buy and sell them.
You can use ETFs to tap into the nuclear energy sector as well.
For example, the VanEck Uranium+Nuclear Energy ETF (NLR) is an ETF that tracks the performance of companies engaged in uranium mining, the construction, engineering and maintenance of nuclear power facilities, the generation of electricity from nuclear sources, and the provision of equipment and equipment. Services to the nuclear power industry. The fund currently holds 24 stocks.
Then there’s also the Global X Uranium ETF (URA), a play targeted at uranium mining. The fund provides exposure to companies involved in uranium mining and production of nuclear components. It currently has 47 holdings.
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This article provides information only and should not be taken as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.