NexGen Energy Up 123% This Past Year as Investor Adds $7.3 Million Before Major Approval

On February 17, 2026, Hancock Prospecting disclosed a buy of NexGen Energy (NYSE:NXE), adding 828,245 shares in an estimated $7.31 million trade based on quarterly average pricing.

What happened

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated February 17, 2026, Hancock Prospecting increased its position in NexGen Energy by 828,245 shares. The estimated transaction value was $7.31 million, calculated using the average share price over the fourth quarter of 2025. The fund’s quarter-end stake totaled 9,078,245 shares, with a reported value of $83.66 million, up $9.81 million from the prior filing.

What else to know

• The fund’s buy lifted NexGen Energy to 2.57% of 13F AUM.
• Top holdings after the filing:
  • NASDAQ: QQQ: $784.91 million (24.1% of AUM)
  • NYSE: MP: $750.79 million (23.1% of AUM)
  • NYSE: TECK: $493.19 million (15.2% of AUM)
  • NYSE: HBM: $289.00 million (8.9% of AUM)
  • NYSE: NXE: $83.66 million (2.6% of AUM)
• As of Friday, NexGen Energy shares were priced at $11.26, skyrocketing 123% over the past year as the S&P 500 instead gained 15%.

Company overview

Company snapshot

• NexGen Energy focuses on the acquisition, exploration, evaluation, and development of uranium properties, with the flagship Rook I project in Saskatchewan.
• The firm operates as an exploration and development stage company, generating value through advancing uranium assets toward production.
• It is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with principal operations in the Athabasca Basin region.

NexGen Energy is a Canadian uranium exploration and development company with its principal asset, the Rook I project, located in the Athabasca Basin. The company is advancing its uranium assets toward production.

What this transaction means for investors

When it comes to long-cycle resource assets, the real conviction often shows up long before any headlines hit, and what stands out here is that this wasn't just a knee-jerk reaction to big news. The federal green light for the Rook I project earlier this month has helped NexGen stock’s recent surge, but since that approval came after the quarter wrapped up, it highlights that this bet was more likely about solid fundamentals and probabilities than about guaranteed outcomes.

This is a crucial point for long-term investors to grasp. NexGen is still in the pre-production phase, so its valuation largely hinges on execution risk and the demand for uranium down the line. But the sheer scale of Rook I is hard to overlook. Once fully operational, it's set to churn out up to 30 million pounds annually, which would capture a significant slice of the global uranium market. Within a portfolio that leans heavily toward commodities and materials stocks like MP Materials, Teck, and Hudbay, adding NexGen fits well as a higher-risk, higher-reward play. Shares have climbed 23% since the end of last quarter.

Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends MP Materials and Teck Resources. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.