Daily Nuclear & Uranium Market Recap
2/23/26
Daily Nuclear & Uranium Market Recap
Monday, February 23, 2026
Market Overview
The nuclear and uranium complex opened the week with another sharply divided session: power-adjacent and fuel-cycle names rallied while upstream miners and the SMR cohort diverged. Uranium spot closed Friday at $89.40/lb, up +0.11% day-over-day, +4.87% on the month, and +38.18% year-over-year. Today is the CME uranium futures first notice date for the February contract (UXG26), which settled at $89.05 on Friday, with the March roll (UXH6) at $89.40 and April at $89.80, maintaining gentle contango through the forward curve. The physical spot market is “consolidating as the market weighs conflicting supply signals,” with support holding firm at the $89 level.
Key Equity Movers, Winners
Bloom Energy (BE) closed at $159.61, +8.17% on 10.0M shares, the day’s top large-cap performer. A Financial Times article highlighting growing demand for fuel cell technologies to alleviate AI-driven power shortages catalyzed the move, alongside continued momentum from the $2.65B data center deal disclosures and $20B pipeline backlog. Range: $159.43 to $159.80, closing near the highs.
NuScale AI (NUAI) closed at $5.12, +7.79% on 4.4M shares, bouncing in sympathy with the broader power-adjacent complex despite the ongoing NuScale (SMR) litigation overhang.
Mirion Technologies (MIR) closed at $22.54, +5.90% on 4.3M shares, another wild intraday swing with a range of $20.18 to $24.96, a nearly $5 spread on a $22 stock. MIR continues to exhibit extreme volatility session-to-session.
ASP Isotopes (ASPI) closed at $5.41, +4.08% on 2.9M shares, recovering from Friday’s 4.95% selloff. Range: $5.26 to $5.40, closing at the highs.
Denison Mines (DNN) closed at $4.20, +3.45% on a massive 49.0M shares, the third consecutive session above 44M shares since the CNSC Phoenix ISR approval. Range: $4.16 to $4.30. The sustained volume at this level confirms institutional accumulation is ongoing, not a one-day event.
Key Equity Movers, Laggards
NuScale Power (SMR) closed at $12.50, down 6.99% on 29.5M shares, extending the securities fraud lawsuit selloff for a third consecutive session. Multiple law firms including Kessler Topaz, BFA Law, and Robbins Geller have now filed class-action suits alleging NuScale failed to disclose the full scope of its $495M ENTRA1 Energy payment, with a lead plaintiff deadline of April 20, 2026. The stock is now down 14% over three sessions and 35% over the past 30 days. Range: $12.48 to $12.52, closing at the lows.
Talen Energy (TLN) closed at $360.11, down 5.79% on 593.2K shares, the sharpest single-day decline in the nuclear IPP complex. Range: $364.00 to $368.00, with the close below the intraday low suggesting late-session selling pressure accelerated.
Centrus Energy (LEU) closed at $198.58, down 2.53% on 727.6K shares, slipping back below $200 and erasing last week’s recovery. Range: $197.91 to $201.00.
Curtiss-Wright (CW) closed at $690.00, down 2.47% on 191.1K shares. Wide range of $690.00 to $713.08, fading from the open.
Cameco (CCJ) closed at $118.64, down 2.23% on 2.8M shares, giving back Friday’s gains. Range: $118.30 to $118.88. CCJ is now oscillating in a $112 to $122 range for the third consecutive week, unable to break out.
Vistra (VST) closed at $167.61, down 2.21% on 4.1M shares, declining alongside TLN as the nuclear IPP trio (VST, CEG, TLN) sold off in tandem.
Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) closed at $15.91, down 2.09% on 5.2M shares, pulling back after four consecutive green sessions.
Oklo (OKLO) closed at $62.80, down 1.61% on 6.2M shares, making a new multi-week low and confirming the break below $65 support flagged on Friday. Range: $62.75 to $62.87, closing at the lows. The next major support level is the January low near $58.
Catalysts & Headlines
NuScale (SMR) Litigation Cascade Intensifies A third major law firm, BFA Law, filed a class-action suit today, joining Kessler Topaz and Robbins Geller. The consolidated complaint alleges NuScale misled investors about a $495M ENTRA1 Energy development services payment that caused G&A to spike from $17M to $519M. SMR has now dropped 12%+ since the initial filing, with the lead plaintiff deadline set for April 20. The litigation is acting as a persistent weight on the entire advanced reactor cohort, with OKLO (down 1.61%) and NNE (down 1.95%) declining in sympathy despite no company-specific catalysts.
Bloom Energy, AI Power Crunch Narrative Accelerates BE’s +8.17% rally was driven by a Financial Times piece on AI-driven power shortages and the company’s strategic positioning as a distributed fuel cell solution for data centers. The $2.65B in data center deal disclosures and $20B pipeline backlog provide fundamental backing, with BE now up +458% over the trailing 12 months.
CME Uranium Futures First Notice Date Today marked the February contract (UXG26) first notice, settling at $89.05 with the March roll at $89.40. No signs of a physical delivery squeeze, the front-month to second-month spread was only $0.35, suggesting orderly roll activity. The forward curve remains in gentle contango through June.
DNN Post-Approval Accumulation Continues Three sessions post-CNSC approval, DNN has traded 141.6M cumulative shares (49.0M + 44.6M + 48.0M) at a $4.08 to $4.20 range. This kind of sustained institutional volume on a sub-$5 name confirms large block buyers are building positions ahead of the construction phase. Roth MKM’s $4.25 price target is the immediate overhead level.
SEQH Desk View
Today’s session reinforced a theme that has now persisted for two full weeks: the nuclear sector is fragmenting into distinct sub-trades, and you need to own the right leg. The upstream miner complex (CCJ down 2.23%, UEC down 2.09%, UUUU down 1.55%) sold off despite spot uranium holding firm at $89.40, while BE (+8.17%), ASPI (+4.08%), and DNN (+3.45%) rallied on idiosyncratic catalysts.
SMR’s litigation spiral is becoming a sector contagion risk. The stock is down 35% in 30 days, and each new law firm filing generates fresh headlines that weigh on OKLO, NNE, and the entire advanced reactor basket. Until the April 20 lead plaintiff deadline passes, this overhang will persist. Any position in SMR-adjacent names needs to be sized for continued headline risk.
DNN is the cleanest long in the complex right now. 49M shares on a +3.45% day, three sessions post-approval, with the stock holding $4.00 to $4.20 on 142M cumulative shares traded. The CNSC licence is the single most significant de-risking event in the uranium mining space this year, and institutional buyers are clearly accumulating. A break above $4.30 (today’s intraday high and Roth’s $4.25 target) opens the path toward $4.50 to $5.00.
CCJ’s $112 to $122 range is becoming increasingly well-defined. The bellwether has now tested both boundaries multiple times over the past three weeks. A catalyst is needed to break the range, and with earnings behind us, the next driver is likely a spot uranium move above $90 or below $85.
CME first notice passed without incident. The orderly roll removes a near-term volatility catalyst but also confirms there is no urgency among physical delivery participants. Spot needs a new demand impulse to break above $90.