Nuclear stocks are surging in overnight trading as analysts are growing optimistic over the sector's prospects. Energy Fuels rose 4.88%; Nexgen Energy rose 4.17%; Oklo Inc., NuScle Power, Vista Energy rose around 3%; Constellation Energy Corp rose over 2%.
On Friday, UBS analyst William Appicelli reiterated his Buy ratings for Vistra and Constellation Energy. He raised his price target for Vistra stock to $174 from $161 and slightly lowered his forecast for shares of Constellation Energy to $289 from $307.
Vistra is the second-largest owner of independent nuclear power plants, with only Constellation Energy being bigger.
"Independent power companies should benefit from strong demand and energy/capacity prices in 2025," Appicelli wrote.
Investors have been bidding up the stocks on excitement over how nuclear-power companies stand to benefit from the rising demand for electricity at artificial-intelligence data centers. Vistra and Constellation are among the best-performing stocks over the last 12 months, with gains of 312% and 117%, respectively.
There has been a flurry of deals in the energy sector over the past year: Large technology companies have signed contracts with nuclear power companies to provide electricity for their future data centers.
Morgan Stanley analyst David Arcaro expects more deals at higher prices going forward. "We think tech companies would be generally willing to pay higher prices given sustainability targets and less budgetary pressure," the analyst wrote in a note to clients Thursday.
