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

Key Points

• NuScale Power saw unusually heavy call-option activity, with traders purchasing 137,306 calls—about 138% above the typical volume of 57,685.
• The company’s latest quarter reflected significant operating weakness: revenue fell 99.1% year over year to $0.07 million, while NuScale posted a $0.13 per-share loss and maintained sharply negative profitability metrics.
• Wall Street’s consensus rating is Hold, with a $13.50 price target, while recent targets ranged from $6.50 to $15.00. Institutional ownership is substantial at 78.37%, although insiders sold shares primarily to cover tax obligations related to vested equity awards.

NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 137,306 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 138% compared to the typical volume of 57,685 call options.

NuScale Power Stock Performance

Shares of SMR opened at $11.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.68. NuScale Power has a 52-week low of $7.21 and a 52-week high of $57.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of -3.83 and a beta of 2.30.

NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $0.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 million. NuScale Power had a negative net margin of 3,888.70% and a negative return on equity of 35.59%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 99.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.11) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that NuScale Power will post -0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert Hamady sold 29,880 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.39, for a total transaction of $280,573.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 124,235 shares in the company, valued at $1,166,566.65. The trade was a 19.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Carl M. Fisher sold 18,771 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.36, for a total value of $175,696.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 114,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,073,760.48. This represents a 14.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,651 shares of company stock valued at $633,470. 1.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NuScale Power

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in NuScale Power by 623.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 457,276 shares of the company's stock worth $6,475,000 after purchasing an additional 394,065 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NuScale Power by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 10,244 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of NuScale Power in the first quarter valued at about $390,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of NuScale Power by 9.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 16,793 shares of the company's stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 1,394 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of NuScale Power by 1,220.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,845,116 shares of the company's stock worth $26,127,000 after buying an additional 1,705,411 shares during the period. 78.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMR has been the topic of several recent research reports. B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on shares of NuScale Power from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of NuScale Power in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of NuScale Power from $25.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of NuScale Power in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of NuScale Power from $7.50 to $6.50 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NuScale Power presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.50.

About NuScale Power

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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