Daily Nuclear & Uranium Market Recap
2/20/26
Daily Nuclear & Uranium Market Recap
Friday, February 20, 2026
Market Overview
The nuclear complex delivered a sharply two-speed session to close the week: upstream uranium miners and large-cap producers rallied while advanced reactor/SMR names and power-gen plays sold off aggressively. Uranium spot rose to $89.30/lb on February 19, up +0.51% day-over-day, +4.75% on the month, and +37.60% year-over-year. CME front-month uranium futures (UXG26) settled at $89.25, with March at $89.30 and the forward curve flat through April at $89.45. First notice date is Monday, February 23, just one trading session away. The 52-week futures range stands at $66.80 to $101.50, with today’s settlement sitting +26.85% off the March 2025 lows.
Key Equity Movers, Winners
Cameco (CCJ) closed at $121.52, +2.09% on 4.8M shares, marking the highest close since the Feb. 13 earnings release. Range: $121.35 to $121.88, a tight finish near the highs. CCJ has now rallied +7.5% off Monday’s $112.99 low, reclaiming all post-earnings losses and confirming institutional demand at the $112 to $115 support zone.
BWX Technologies (BWXT) closed at $213.00, +1.88% on 823.9K shares, a fresh multi-session high. Wide range of $204.23 to $210.53, closing above the intraday high, which suggests a late-session push by buyers. Defense and government nuclear contract exposure continues to insulate BWXT from the SMR selloff.
enCore Energy (EU) closed at $2.66, +1.46% on 2.4M shares, extending the upstream miner bid for the third session.
Constellation Energy (CEG) closed at $294.86, +1.10% on 3.1M shares, recovering from two sessions of selling and stabilizing above $290.
Ur-Energy (URG) closed at $1.62, +0.43% on 6.5M shares, modest but continuing the grind higher off the $1.54 February low.
UEC closed at $16.16, +0.31% on 8.3M shares, the fourth consecutive green session and now +7.4% off Monday’s $15.04 trough.
Key Equity Movers, Laggards
NuScale Power (SMR) closed at $13.44, down 8.20% on a massive 25.4M shares, the day’s worst performer and the most actively traded name in the complex. The catalyst: a securities fraud lawsuit filed against NuScale, alleging the company failed to disclose the full scope of a $495M payment to ENTRA1 Energy in Q3 2025 for development services. The stock has now declined 29.7% over the past 30 days and is down 12.9% YTD, trading at just $13.44 against a DCF-based intrinsic value estimate of $39.02.
Oklo (OKLO) closed at $63.80, down 5.68% on 7.1M shares, breaking below the $65 to $68 consolidation range we flagged yesterday. Range: $63.83 to $63.85, closing at the lows of the day. OKLO is now down 67% from its 52-week high of $193.84 and trading well below both moving averages. NRC approval risk remains the existential overhang.
Bloom Energy (BE) closed at $147.53, down 7.21% on 10.2M shares, giving back nearly the entire +7.76% surge from Wednesday. Range: $147.00 to $147.84, a weak close near the lows.
Nano Nuclear Energy (NNE) closed at $24.25, down 5.49% on 1.2M shares, selling off in sympathy with SMR and OKLO as the advanced reactor cohort was broadly punished.
ASP Isotopes (ASPI) closed at $5.19, down 4.95% on 2.8M shares, the third session of selling off the $5.87 intraday high from Wednesday.
Lightbridge (LTBR) closed at $12.87, down 4.11% on 544.5K shares, pulled lower with the advanced reactor and fuel technology names.
Centrus Energy (LEU) closed at $202.10, down 3.25% on 762.9K shares, breaking three consecutive green sessions and slipping back below $205.
Energy Fuels (UUUU) closed at $21.26, down 3.23% on 9.5M shares, the only traditional miner in the red, likely sector-sympathy selling from the SMR crash rather than any uranium-specific catalyst.
Catalysts & Headlines
NuScale (SMR) Securities Fraud Lawsuit The headline driver of today’s selloff. A class-action suit alleges NuScale failed to properly disclose a $495M payment to ENTRA1 Energy for development services in Q3 2025, which caused G&A expenses to spike from $17M to $519M. The lawsuit covers losses between specific dates and is being led by multiple law firms. This is weighing on the entire advanced reactor/SMR complex, including OKLO (down 5.68%) and NNE (down 5.49%), as investors reprice litigation and governance risk across the cohort.
CME Uranium Futures First Notice Date, Monday Feb. 23 The front-month UXG26 contract settles at $89.25 with first notice in one trading session. Open interest dynamics heading into the weekend will determine whether physical delivery squeezes or contract rollovers create spot volatility early next week.
Denison Mines (DNN) Consolidating Post-Approval DNN closed at $4.08, down 0.24%on another massive 44.6M share session, digesting yesterday’s +4.34% surge following the CNSC Phoenix ISR approval. Volume remains extraordinarily elevated, confirming institutional position-building continues. The stock is holding the $4.00 level, which is now the line in the sand.
Weekly Scorecard
The week featured a clean rotation from power-gen/advanced reactor names into upstream miners mid-week, before the SMR lawsuit reversed the script on Friday. Net-net:
Uranium Spot: $89.30/lb, +$0.50 week-over-week (+0.6%)
CCJ: $121.52, +7.5% on the week from Monday’s $112.99, the strongest weekly performer among large-caps
DNN: $4.08, flat on the week after the CNSC approval spike and consolidation
UEC: $16.16, +7.4% on the week from Monday’s $15.04
LEU: $202.10, down 3.1% on the week, unable to sustain the recovery above $208
SMR: $13.44, down 5.3% on the week, weighed by the securities fraud filing
OKLO: $63.80, down 5.4% on the week, breaking below key support
SEQH Desk View
Today’s session was a tale of two nuclear markets. Upstream producers (CCJ +2.09%, UEC +0.31%, EU +1.46%) rallied as uranium spot held firm at $89.30 and the physical commodity thesis remained intact. Meanwhile, the advanced reactor complex (SMR down 8.20%, OKLO down 5.68%, NNE down 5.49%) cratered on the NuScale litigation catalyst, dragging BE (down 7.21%) and LTBR (down 4.11%) lower in sympathy.
The NuScale lawsuit is a sector-wide sentiment event, not a fundamental readthrough for OKLO or NNE. The $495M ENTRA1 payment is a NuScale-specific governance issue, but the market is painting all pre-revenue advanced reactor names with the same brush. OKLO’s break below $65 support is technically damaging, the next level to watch is the January low near $58 to $60. If that breaks, the stock likely revisits $50.
CCJ at $121.52 is the week’s most bullish signal. The bellwether has now reclaimed its entire post-earnings selloff in five sessions, signaling that the large-cap miner complex is being supported by real institutional flows tied to $89+ spot uranium. This is not a speculative rally, it is commodity-driven re-rating.
Monday’s CME first notice date is the immediate catalyst. With spot at $89.30 and futures at $89.25, the convergence is tight, but any delivery squeeze on low open interest could push spot toward $90+ early next week. The weekend positioning window opens now.