Traders Purchase Large Volume of NuScale Power Call Options (NYSE:SMR)

Key Points

• NuScale Power experienced a significant increase in call options trading, with 107,856 options bought, marking a 63% rise compared to its usual trading volume of 66,172 options.
• Analysts have provided a range of ratings for NuScale Power, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.09, following several recent upgrades and downgrades.
• Insider trading activity saw a notable sell-off, including a transaction where a director sold over 1.1 million shares for approximately $46.5 million, reducing their ownership in the company by 8.74%.

NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 107,856 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 63% compared to the average daily volume of 66,172 call options.

NuScale Power Stock Up 22.0%

Shares of SMR stock traded up $8.40 on Friday, reaching $46.52. The company had a trading volume of 51,875,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,298,589. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.25 billion, a PE ratio of -39.09 and a beta of 2.03. NuScale Power has a one year low of $9.71 and a one year high of $53.50. The business's 50-day moving average is $40.42 and its 200 day moving average is $29.98.

NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $8.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.49 million. NuScale Power had a negative net margin of 221.07% and a positive return on equity of 2.61%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NuScale Power will post -0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on SMR shares. BNP Paribas upgraded NuScale Power to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on NuScale Power in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America started coverage on NuScale Power in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Citigroup began coverage on NuScale Power in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Northland Securities started coverage on NuScale Power in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.09.

Insider Activity at NuScale Power

In related news, COO Carl M. Fisher sold 18,206 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.39, for a total value of $808,164.34. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 90,864 shares in the company, valued at $4,033,452.96. The trade was a 16.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Corp Fluor sold 1,193,504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.95, for a total transaction of $46,486,980.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,457,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at $485,235,477.65. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,590,940 shares of company stock worth $97,907,007 in the last 90 days. 1.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NuScale Power

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of NuScale Power in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in NuScale Power by 84.5% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 784 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of NuScale Power by 45.2% in the second quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in NuScale Power by 165,450.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,311 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 3,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NuScale Power by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.37% of the company's stock.

About NuScale Power

NuScale Power Corporation engages in the development and sale of modular light water reactor nuclear power plants to supply energy for electrical generation, district heating, desalination, hydrogen production, and other process heat applications. It offers NuScale Power Module (NPM), a water reactor that can generate 77 megawatts of electricity (MWe); and VOYGR power plant designs for three facility sizes that are capable of housing from one to four and six or twelve NPMs.