Oklo Stock Rockets 35% on SPAC Merger News – Should Investors Jump Into This Nuclear Power Pioneer?

Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO) surged again this week as fresh Wall Street coverage and AI-driven power demand kept the advanced nuclear pioneer at the center of investor attention. The stock climbed more than 4 % Tuesday to close near $75, extending its 2025 gain to roughly 250 % and pushing its market capitalization above $11 billion. Momentum Catalyst: Bank of America’s Street-High Target Bank of America launched coverage on Oklo with a “buy” rating and a $92 price target—about 23 % upside from current levels—citing the company’s “edge powering the AI era.” Analysts highlighted three differentiators: • Vertically integrated reactor design and fuel recycling. • Long-term, inflation-linked power contracts with hyperscale data-center operators, industrial users, and U.S. government agencies. • Favorable policy tailwinds after this year’s White House executive orders accelerating small-modular-reactor approvals. Shares reacted immediately, notching their fifth straight daily gain and outpacing peers such as NuScale Power (SMR) and Constellation Energy (CEG). Why AI Is the New Nuclear Growth Engine Data-center electricity consumption is expected to almost double by 2035, according to DOE estimates. Generative-AI servers require up to 10× the power of traditional racks, making 24/7 carbon-free baseload increasingly valuable. Oklo’s 15-MW “Aurora” fast fission units are small enough to be sited onsite, cutting transmission losses and allowing customers to lock in multi-decade rates below today’s wholesale prices. Earnings Snapshot and Key Metrics • Q2 revenue: $46 million, up 170 % year over year. • Current fleet under contract: 22 reactors, 330 MW total. • Backlog value: $9.4 billion across 20- to 40-year power-purchase agreements. • Cash & equivalents: $1.2 billion after May follow-on offering. Regulatory Milestones on Deck The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is scheduled to issue a combined license for Oklo’s first commercial unit in Idaho by late September. Management also expects a fuel-recycling demonstration at Idaho National Laboratory in Q4, a step analysts say could open a second, higher-margin revenue stream from spent-fuel reprocessing. Technical Picture OKLO cleared resistance at $70 last week and now trades above its 21-day and 50-day moving averages. Relative-strength readings remain elevated but short interest (5.8 % of float) suggests further squeeze potential on positive headlines. Traders are eyeing $80 as the next psychological barrier, with BofA’s $92 target viewed as a medium-term objective. Bottom Line Oklo stock sits at the nexus of three megatrends—AI infrastructure, energy security, and the “nuclear renaissance.” While valuation (17× 2026 EBITDA) looks rich versus traditional utilities, bulls argue that proprietary reactor technology and locked-in cash flows justify a growth-stock multiple. Upcoming NRC decisions, additional enterprise power deals, and any expansion of federal clean-energy credits could be the sparks that send OKLO to new highs in the coming months.