Uranium, nuclear stocks extend declines as Kazakhstan plans to raise production

[Model of atom and elementary particles. Physics concept. 3D rendered illustration.]
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Shares of uranium producers and nuclear technology providers extend losses in Wednesday's trading, a day after Kazakhstan, the world's largest uranium producer, announced plans to significantly increase production.

During the past two sessions, Energy Fuels (UUUU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/UUUU]) -19.3%, Lightbridge (LTBR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/LTBR]) -11.9%, Uranium Energy (UEC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/UEC]) -11.4%, Nano Nuclear Energy (NNE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NNE]) -9.3%, Uranium Royalty (UROY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/UROY]) -9.1%, Cameco (CCJ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CCJ]) -8.8%, NexGen Energy (NXE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NXE]) -8.8%, Denison Mines (DNN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DNN]) -8.6%, Nuscale Power (SMR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SMR]) -8.4%, Oklo (OKLO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/OKLO]) -8.1%, Ur-Energy (URG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/URG]) -6.9%, BWX Technologies (BWXT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BWXT]) -4.3%, Centrus Energy (LEU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/LEU]) -3.7%.

The KATKO joint venture, owned by France's Orano Mining and Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom, said it plans to ramp up uranium production at the Moinkum deposit to 4K metric tons/year starting in 2026, returning to 2021 levels after output was reduced to slightly more than 2K tons/year during 2017-24 due to falling global uranium prices.

Kazatomprom's financial performance has been improving [https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/energy-fuels-stock-plunges-as-uranium-sector-tumbles-amid-kazakhstan-production-news-93CH-4200545], with revenue rising to 1.8T tenge (~$3.3B) in 2024 from 1.4T in 2023, and its profit nearly doubled to 1.1T tenge during the same period.

Markets also may be factoring in the possibility of a ceasefire [https://oilprice.com/Company-News/Uranium-Stocks-Tumble-Despite-Strong-Prices.html] in Ukraine and a thaw in U.S.-Russia relations, which would lower the perceived likelihood of sanctions targeting Russia’s strategic nuclear sector; without such restrictions, U.S. uranium producers still face competition from Russian supply.

The uranium sector selloff also may be linked to broader market concerns, as some analysts have pointed to an "AI winter" that will see cooling tech valuations and sparking caution across growth-sensitive sectors, including energy.

ETFs: (NYSEARCA:NLR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NLR]), (NYSEARCA:URA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/URA]), (URNM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/URNM])

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