NEW YORK, January 4, 2026, 07:45 ET — Market closed.
Centrus Energy Corp (LEU) shares closed up 12.25% at $272.50 on Friday, snapping four straight declines into year-end on the first trading day of 2026. The stock traded between $246.11 and $272.70 on roughly 1.07 million shares, and was last indicated at $271.70 in after-hours trade. Centrus has traded in a wide 52-week range of $49.40 to $464.25.
The move puts Centrus back on traders’ radar as investors reprice U.S. nuclear-fuel names at the start of the year. The company is watched because uranium enrichment — the step that turns uranium into reactor-ready fuel — is a choke point in the supply chain.
In a Dec. 19 update, Centrus said it began domestic centrifuge manufacturing at its Piketon, Ohio facility to support commercial low-enriched uranium (LEU) enrichment. It said it is targeting high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) — a higher-enriched fuel some advanced reactors are designed to use — with new enrichment capacity expected to come online in 2029 and a $2.3 billion backlog of contingent LEU sales contracts; the company also said imports of Russian enriched uranium will be banned starting in 2028. Chief Executive Amir Vexler said it had begun an “industrial-scale centrifuge manufacturing build for commercial LEU enrichment,” and the company said it recently launched a $1 billion at-the-market offering that lets it sell shares into the market over time. 1
The broader market also ended higher on Friday, with the Dow up 0.66% and the S&P 500 up 0.19% while the Nasdaq finished nearly flat, Reuters reported. The report said traders are also looking to next week’s labor-market data for fresh clues on the rate outlook. 2
Other uranium-linked names posted big moves alongside Centrus. Denison Mines jumped 13.9% after it said it was nearly ready to start construction on its Phoenix uranium project, the Motley Fool reported. 3
Uranium Energy, another U.S.-listed name in the sector, rose about 8% on Friday, according to MarketBeat. 4
The spot uranium price has been steadier than many of the equities tied to the theme. Trading Economics showed uranium around $81.65 per pound on Jan. 2, little changed on the day. 5
Centrus’s swingy tape has made it a momentum name, with moves often amplified by thin coverage and a tight share base. That can leave the stock sensitive to incremental headlines on U.S. enrichment policy, customer contracting and financing.
Before Monday’s open, traders will watch whether Centrus can hold above the mid-$240s area where it found support late last week. They will also be looking for follow-through after Friday’s push through the $270 level.
The next scheduled catalyst is the company’s quarterly report, due Feb. 5, according to Investing.com’s earnings calendar. Investors will be looking for updated detail on enrichment timelines, customer milestones and cash-flow implications from any acceleration in manufacturing.
Beyond earnings, investors are watching for any U.S. government awards tied to LEU or HALEU production and for new supply agreements with utilities and advanced-reactor developers. Any share sales under the at-the-market program could also be a focus for traders tracking supply in the stock.
