NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares gapped up, trading roughly 16% higher to about $11.91 on heavy volume as sector‑positive news (U.K. SMR funding and a Rolls‑Royce contract) and speculative/short‑covering flows around potential catalysts (e.g., AI/data‑center electrification) lifted demand.
• Material downside risks remain: multiple class‑action suits tied to the ENTRA1 disclosure, a 13.5M‑share stake sale by Fluor and significant insider selling, plus a large quarterly earnings miss and deeply negative margins, all of which could pressure the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with a consensus "Hold" and an average price target of about $20.96, but recent downgrades and a wide range of opinions leave conviction low and the stock prone to volatility (beta 2.27).

NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.25, but opened at $10.80. NuScale Power shares last traded at $11.9070, with a volume of 11,854,004 shares changing hands.

NuScale Power News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting NuScale Power this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.K. SMR funding and Rolls‑Royce contract lifted sentiment across the small‑modular‑reactor sector, prompting buying in U.S. SMR names (including NuScale) as investors price in bigger addressable markets and potential near‑term catalysts. QuiverQuant: UK SMR funding boosts sector
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage/media pieces highlighting upcoming catalysts and longer‑term demand vectors (e.g., AI/data‑center electrification) have encouraged speculative buying into beaten‑down nuclear names, contributing to short‑covering and momentum flows. Fool commentary on catalysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed: recent cuts to targets but a range of opinions (Buy–Sell spectrum) and a consensus "Hold" — this limits conviction from the sell‑side and keeps price targets dispersed. MarketBeat analyst summary
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple national law firms have announced class‑action filings or are soliciting lead‑plaintiff candidates tied to the ENTRA1 disclosure and the prior stock drop — active litigation increases legal uncertainty, potential damages exposure, and ongoing negative headlines. Faruqi & Faruqi class action notice
• Negative Sentiment: Plaintiff firms allege material misstatements related to ENTRA1 performance (asserting investor losses after disclosures) and point to a prior ~12% intraday stock drop — these allegations underpin the suits and sustain downside risk. PR Newswire on ENTRA1/stock drop
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider/director selling: Corp Fluor disclosed a 13.5M‑share sale (~$163M) on April 9, materially reducing its stake — such sizable sales can create supply pressure and be interpreted negatively by some investors. SEC Form 4 — Fluor sale

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on SMR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on NuScale Power from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on NuScale Power from $21.00 to $14.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America raised NuScale Power from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of NuScale Power in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered NuScale Power from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.96.

NuScale Power Trading Up 16.4%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $12.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.15 and a beta of 2.27.

NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.70). The company had revenue of $1.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.76 million. NuScale Power had a negative net margin of 1,130.26% and a negative return on equity of 55.23%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NuScale Power Corporation will post -0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Carl M. Fisher sold 22,197 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.22, for a total transaction of $271,247.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 140,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,712,523.02. This represents a 13.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Clayton Scott sold 22,478 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.22, for a total value of $274,681.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 132,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,623,451.44. The trade was a 14.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,135,610 shares of company stock worth $171,143,439. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NuScale Power

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of NuScale Power by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,147 shares of the company's stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of NuScale Power by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,682 shares of the company's stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in shares of NuScale Power by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in shares of NuScale Power by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,654 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of NuScale Power by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 36,314 shares of the company's stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NuScale Power Company Profile

NuScale Power Corporation, trading on the NYSE American under the ticker SMR, is a pioneering developer of small modular nuclear reactors. Established in 2007 as a spinout from Oregon State University, the company is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. NuScale’s mission is to deliver zero-carbon baseload power through scalable modular reactor technology, aiming to transform traditional nuclear energy deployment.

At the core of NuScale’s offering is the VOYGR small modular reactor design, featuring 77-megawatt electric (MWe) modules with passive safety systems.

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