Why Oklo Stock Dropped Monday

Key Points

• Oklo stock soared Friday on news of a U.S.-U.K. government nuclear partnership.

• That partnership may not benefit Oklo at all -- and might even hurt it.

• On Monday, the company is breaking ground on its first experimental small nuclear reactor.

• 10 stocks we like better than Oklo ›

Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) stock soared by 29% on Friday after the Trump administration and the government of the United Kingdom announced agreements to speed up the development of the two countries' artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and nuclear energy sectors.

Last week, I called that market response an overreaction because the U.K.-U.S. agreement won't benefit Oklo directly (or at all) -- and in fact appears most likely to benefit an Amazon-backed rival nuclear power company called X-Energy.

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On Monday, Oklo stock is giving back a fraction of those gains, trading down 2% through 10:15 a.m. ET.

Image source: Getty Images.

Oklo forges ahead

Did my warning last week set off this mild retreat? I doubt it. More likely, what we're seeing is simply evidence of momentum traders, who won big on Friday, selling Oklo stock to pocket their winnings.

What's really curious, though, is that Oklo stock is now falling on some actual good news.

On Monday, Oklo will break ground on its first Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the "Aurora-INL" sodium-cooled fast reactor. As the company reminded in its press release, Aurora-INL is one of three nuclear pilot projects that Oklo and its subsidiaries have been awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Is Oklo stock a buy?

Still, Oklo remains a long way away from getting any revenues (much less profits) from this project. As the company itself admits, it has completed only "two of four steps for DOE authorization to fabricate its initial core at the Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility."

The company hasn't stated when Aurora-INL will come on line and begin producing positive numbers for Oklo, but most analysts agree the company is at least five years away from profitability.

Despite Monday's good news, Oklo stock remains a sell for me.

Should you invest $1,000 in Oklo right now?

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.