The nuclear energy story that had Wall Street buzzing in 2025 has collapsed this year. NuScale Power (SMR), one of the most popular companies in the small modular reactor (SMR) space, has become one of the biggest short-seller targets in 2026.
Valued at a market capitalization of around $3.8 billion, SMR stock is now down 83% from its all-time high, grossly underperforming the broader markets. Will SMR stock continue to decline over the next 12 months? Let's take a closer look.
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www.barchart.com The SMR Stock Hype Cycle Unravels
Small modular reactors are compact nuclear plants built from factory-made parts. These reactors typically produce around 300 megawatts of energy or less, compared to more than 1,000 MW for a traditional reactor. The pitch for SMRs is simple: faster builds, lower costs, and power close to where it is needed, like a data-center campus.
SMR companies initially attracted interest from artificial intelligence (AI) hyperscalers, driving their share prices higher in late 2025. Adam Stein, Director of Nuclear Energy Innovation at the Breakthrough Institute, recently told Financial Times that the sector went through a “textbook hype cycle,” with stock prices getting overinflated on speculation rather than revenue.
The Financial Times report explains that short sellers made an estimated $2 billion betting against three companies over the past year, according to data from S3 Partners: NuScale, Nano Nuclear (NNE), and Oklo (OKLO). Together, these companies and their peers have lost a combined $30 billion in market value.
According to the report, roughly 18% of NuScale's outstanding shares are out on loan, a common proxy for short selling activity, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. That is a meaningful chunk of the stock leaning against continued gains.
Reportedly, sentiment for names like NuScale has cooled considerably in 2026, due to a combination of little to no revenue and high capital spending needs. However, BloombergNEF data shows that U.S. data-center power demand is projected to climb from almost 35 gigawatts in 2024 to 106 GW by 2035, while the U.S. Department of Energy announced $17.5 billion in loans in June 2026 to help rebuild the domestic nuclear energy supply chain.
Still, analysts at BNP Paribas have flagged shortages of a specialized nuclear fuel needed for many SMR designs. Meanwhile, many reactors are not expected online until 2030 and beyond.
Is NuScale Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
NuScale management spent much of the second-quarter 2026 earnings call making a case that the company is different from its peers. CEO John Hopkins told investors that NuScale remains the only SMR company to hold design certification from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and that it uses conventional low-enriched uranium rather than the harder-to-source high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel some competitors depend on.
NuScale closed Q2 with about $1.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments, up about $900 million from the prior quarter, per CFO Robert Ramsey Hamady. The company reported just $75,000 in revenue for the period, down from $8.1 million a year earlier, a drop tied to the completion of earlier engineering work on its Romania project.
Hopkins also noted that talks between commercial partner ENTRA1 Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority over a potential power purchase agreement are active and progressing, although no contract has been signed. The deal, if finalized, would be “potentially the largest nuclear power deployment program in U.S. history, utilizing NuScale SMR technology.”
Overall, NuScale stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating on Wall Street. Out of the 18 analysts covering SMR stock, six recommend a “Strong Buy” rating, 10 recommend a “Hold,” and two recommend a “Strong Sell.” The average price target of $13.53 represents potential upside of 42% from current levels.
For now, short sellers are betting on the gap between NuScale's readiness pitch and its narrowing revenue base. Until a firm contract lands, that bet looks likely to keep paying off.
www.barchart.com On the date of publication, Aditya Raghunath did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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