NEW YORK, May 26, 2026, 14:03 (EDT)
NuScale Power shares rose 7.6% to $12.27 in Tuesday afternoon trading, one of the stronger moves among U.S.-listed advanced nuclear names, as investors put fresh money into the small-reactor trade. The stock had traded as high as $12.66, while Oklo gained 7.2% and Nano Nuclear Energy rose 13.1%; the SPDR S&P 500 ETF was up 0.4% and QQQ, an ETF tracking large Nasdaq stocks, gained 1.5%.
The timing matters because regulatory delay is one of the costliest choke points for small modular reactors, or SMRs, smaller nuclear plants meant to be deployed in repeatable units rather than built as one-off megaprojects. Reuters Events reported Tuesday that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is fast-tracking three rule changes to speed reviews; it also noted NuScale took about five to six years to secure the first and only NRC design certification for an SMR. Dr. Rita Baranwal of Radiant Nuclear called one proposal “a bridge for data sharing,” while Adam Stein of the Breakthrough Institute said Part 53 “could completely change” reactor licensing. Reuters
The move looked less like a new-order trade than a policy read-through. NuScale has long sold investors on a licensing head start, and the stock tends to react hard when Washington signals shorter paths for nuclear projects.
Management leaned into that point earlier this month. On NuScale’s May 7 earnings call, Chief Executive John Hopkins said a more streamlined NRC process could shorten combined license applications, the site-specific permits needed to build and operate reactors, but added that “the rigor of safety and health is not going to go away.” Chief Financial Officer Ramsey Hamady said liquidity had risen to “over $1.2 billion” by early May.
NuScale’s main commercial marker remains the Tennessee Valley Authority. In its first-quarter release, the company said ENTRA1 Energy, its exclusive global strategic partner, continued work with TVA on planning up to 6 gigawatts of NuScale SMR capacity, while Romania’s Nuclearelectrica approved the next phase of RoPower’s six-module project at Doicești. Hopkins said NuScale was “building the infrastructure that this pivotal moment requires.” NuScale Power
Competitive context came from Oklo rather than NuScale. Reuters reported that the U.S. selected five companies, including Oklo, for advanced talks on using Cold War-era plutonium as nuclear reactor fuel; Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte called it potential “bridge fuel” to “bring more reactors online sooner.” Fuel access is a different bottleneck from NuScale’s design-approval pitch, but the headline kept attention on early-stage reactor supply chains. Reuters
But the downside case has not gone away. In its 10-Q, NuScale reported just $565,000 of first-quarter revenue, a $46.7 million net loss, and $962.1 million of shares still eligible for sale under an at-the-market program, a way to sell stock gradually into the market. The filing also said the TVA path depends on one or more power-purchase agreements, contracts to buy electricity, and disclosed a shareholder lawsuit over ENTRA1-related statements for which the company could not estimate a loss.
That is why the stock can move fast on rule changes and still face a grind. A shorter regulator queue helps only if a customer, a power buyer and lenders line up on price, schedule and risk.
It is also still a bruised trade. Google Finance listed NuScale’s 52-week high at $57.42 and its 52-week low at $8.85, a wide range that shows how sharply investors have swung between policy optimism and commercialization doubts.
NuScale’s next scheduled company event is its annual shareholder meeting on May 29 at 4:30 p.m. EDT. Until then, the cleaner catalyst is not another broad nuclear rally, but a definitive TVA-ENTRA1 step, project financing in Romania, or new evidence that customers will pay for first-wave SMR power.
