Nuclear stocks slide as Piper Sandler splits the sector with divergent ratings

The nuclear energy trade that looked unstoppable in 2024 and 2025 is now getting a full-blown identity crisis. Piper Sandler analyst Dimple Gosai initiated coverage on several advanced nuclear companies this week, and the verdict was anything but uniform: Oklo got a Buy rating with a $55 price target, while X-Energy landed a Sell with a $9 target.

Stocks across the sector responded by heading south. Oklo shares fell roughly 4.5%, X-Energy dropped about 3.9%, and NuScale Power also declined as the broader nuclear cohort absorbed the implications of an analyst publicly picking winners and losers among pre-revenue reactor developers.

The Piper Sandler thesis: two companies, opposite trajectories

Gosai’s report drew a sharp line between Oklo’s business model and X-Energy’s. Oklo operates a build-own-operate structure, meaning it plans to own the reactors it deploys and sell the power directly. Piper Sandler called this approach “bankable by design,” arguing that vertical integration reduces customer risk and makes it far easier to secure project financing.

The $55 price target on Oklo implies roughly 27% upside from its recent trading level near $43. The analyst’s logic rests on the notion that Oklo’s structure supports higher EBITDA margins and a cleaner path to profitability than peers.

X-Energy drew the opposite conclusion. With shares trading around $19.15, the $9 price target implies approximately 53% downside. The concern centers on X-Energy’s project structure and valuation, which Gosai apparently views as stretched relative to execution risk.

2026 has been brutal for nuclear equities

Throughout 2026, nuclear stocks have faced sustained pressure, with multiple instances of 5-9% or larger single-day drops. The VanEck Uranium + Nuclear ETF, a widely tracked benchmark for the sector, has retreated from its previous highs despite ongoing governmental support for carbon-free power.

In 2024 and 2025, the nuclear thesis was powered by projections around AI data center electricity demand and government fast-tracking of permitting. What 2026 has delivered instead is a reckoning with timelines. Licensing processes remain lengthy. Construction schedules for advanced reactors are measured in years, not quarters. Revenue for most of the sector’s highest-fliers remains theoretical.

NuScale Power, which trades under the ticker SMR and was among the first small modular reactor companies to go public, has been caught in the same downdraft despite being further along in the regulatory process than some peers.

What the shakeout means for investors

For Oklo, the buy rating offers some validation, but the 4.5% decline on the same day suggests the market is still in “sell first, ask questions later” mode when it comes to nuclear names.

X-Energy faces a tougher road. A $9 price target from a major sell-side firm creates a psychological anchor that can weigh on shares for months, particularly if other analysts follow with similarly cautious assessments. The stock would need a meaningful catalyst—whether a major contract, regulatory milestone, or strategic partnership—to overcome that kind of institutional skepticism.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.