In late January 2025, nuclear energy stocks appeared at risk of a major collapse as the release of DeepSeek – and its reported low costs – cast much doubt upon the hundreds of billions invested in artificial intelligence (AI) and related infrastructure.
Oklo Inc (NYSE: OKLO), known for being involved with ‘compact’ reactors and for being chaired by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, seemingly suffered the same fate as it plunged from $41.82 to $31.11 between January 24 and January 27 – a 25.61% collapse.
Despite its magnitude, zooming out to the year-to-date (YTD) chart positions the DeepSeek-related fall as almost trivial as OKLO shares are, by press time, 162.60% in the green since 2025 started once the latest extended session is accounted for and are changing hands at $55.75.
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Why Oklo shares are soaring in 2025
The rally can be explained by a series of factors that, almost universally, heavily favor companies like Oklo.
To begin with, Donald Trump’s entry into the White House brought the announcement of The Stargate Project, a $500 billion AI infrastructure investment program backed by some of the biggest players in the industry.
Even the DeepSeek turbulence increasingly appears temporary as the actual impact of the Chinese firm’s breakthroughs is more likely to supercharge AI advancement than to damage Western big tech.
The new energy policy also offered some tailwinds as it promises to prioritize production over sustainability meaning that Oklo could look forward to an exceptionally favorable climate for future growth.
The bull case is further strengthened by the fact the nuclear energy company recently had to say farewell to one of its board members – Chris Wright – as he became the U.S. Secretary of Energy.
Oklo stock quadruples in just 12 months
The impact of the latest tailwinds – but also the return of nuclear energy via the private sector – is visible in nearly all commonly used stock market timeframes when it comes to Oklo shares.
Indeed, in addition to their stellar YTD performance, they are 34.36% up in the last week, 119.85% in the last month, and the last 12 months featured a 420.54% rise.
The positive momentum appears like it will last as OKLO stock is, in addition to its 16.19% climb in the most recent trading session, up another 0.38% in the Monday pre-market.
Finally, the speed of the surge is also evident by the fact that the nuclear energy company soared past the January 24 price target of $45, assigned by one of Wall Street’s biggest tech bulls – Wedbush’s Dan Ives – in slightly more than two weeks.
