Oklo Inc. (OKLO) is making waves in the nuclear energy sector with news that could help solve one of the industry's biggest headaches: getting new reactors up and running faster.
The company announced Wednesday that it's conducting multi-day plutonium fast reactor critical tests with Los Alamos National Laboratory at the Department of Energy's National Criticality Experiments Research Center. If that sounds like a mouthful, here's what matters: Oklo is testing whether surplus plutonium can work as fuel for commercial advanced reactors.
Why Plutonium Matters
The experiments involve low-power tests on something called the Flattop fast-spectrum critical assembly, which demonstrated the inherent safety features of a plutonium-fueled fast-spectrum system. This marks the first public technical milestone for Oklo's Pluto reactor, a plutonium-fueled fast test reactor project.
"By working with LANL—the worldwide leader in plutonium science—at DOE's NCERC facility, we are generating the modern benchmark data needed to qualify surplus plutonium as a bridge fuel for advanced reactors, strengthening U.S. energy dominance, supporting the near-term deployment of clean, reliable capacity, and eliminating material that would otherwise remain in long-term storage," said Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and CEO of Oklo.
The strategic partnership project aims to validate plutonium as an advanced reactor bridge fuel. One of the biggest challenges facing new nuclear reactor deployment is a shortfall in domestic nuclear fuel production. DeWitte said the project could ultimately help Oklo build new reactors more quickly and bring clean power online sooner.
The AI Power Play
Oklo has laid out timelines for deployment of its first nuclear plant in late 2027 or early 2028, but the company is working on multiple efforts to speed up the process. The urgency is real: training and running AI models is driving historic levels of power demand, far beyond what today's grid can support.
Traditional energy sources cannot scale fast enough to keep up with the exponential growth of AI, which is where Oklo and other nuclear-focused companies come into play. The company's shares have soared this year on excitement around nuclear power for AI energy needs, though they've pulled back sharply from recent highs amid profit-taking and concerns around AI valuations.
What Analysts Are Saying
Despite the recent decline, analysts remain largely optimistic on Oklo stock over the next year. Seaport Global most recently upgraded the stock to Buy and set a price target of $150 following the pullback in shares.
Needham also initiated coverage with a Buy rating and set a price target of $135 earlier this month, while UBS maintained a Neutral rating and raised its price target to $95 in early December.
Other recent analyst changes include a Buy from B. Riley with a price target increase to $129, an Outperform from Wedbush with a price target of $150 and a Neutral rating from BofA with a price target cut to $111, still well above current levels.
The Technical Picture
Oklo shares were up 1.37% at $84.65 at the time of publication on Wednesday. The stock is currently trading below its key moving averages, indicating a bearish short-term trend. It's 10.2% below its 20-day simple moving average, 27.5% below its 50-day SMA, and 17.5% below its 100-day SMA, suggesting traders should be cautious about potential downside risks.
With an RSI of 38.55, the stock is in neutral territory, but it's edging closer to oversold conditions. This level indicates that momentum is weakening, and traders should watch for any signs of a reversal. While MACD is below its signal line, which points to bearish pressure on the stock, it's trading near key support at $79, which could signal a potential bounce back in shares.
