By Mackenzie Tatananni

While investors are generally bullish on Oklo's prospects, some have questioned the feasibility of the nuclear start-up's timelines for deployment. The company's latest announcement indicates it has taken a step in the right direction.

Earlier this year, Oklo company was named as one of several participants in the U.S. Department of Energy's Reactor Pilot Program, which aims to have at least three test reactors up and running at national laboratories across the country by July 2026. This timeline came ahead of Oklo's own target for deployment in late 2027 or 2028.

Evidently, fresh federal support has served as a catalyst. On Monday, Oklo held a groundbreaking for its first power plant, the Aurora-INL, at Idaho National Laboratory, a sign that things remain on track.

The Aurora-INL is a sodium-cooled fast reactor that uses metal fuel and builds on the design of the Experimental Breeder Reactor II, which operated in Idaho until the early 90s.

Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte noted that Oklo had an opportunity to build quickly under DoE authorization before converting to a commercial operating license under the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Committee, an independent body that oversees the civilian use of nuclear materials.

The start-up was awarded fuel for its first reactor in 2019, but is awaiting authorization to fabricate its initial core at a facility that will also be constructed at INL.

Kiewit Nuclear Solutions will serve as lead builder, per an agreement from July. The project is expected to create around 370 jobs during the construction process, and 70 to 80 long-term jobs to operate the powerhouse and fuel fabrication facility, Oklo said.

Attitudes on Wall Street have been largely upbeat -- 11 of 16 analysts polled by FactSet rate the stock at Buy -- but Oklo's lofty goals have raised some eyebrows.

Craig-Hallum analyst Eric Stine downgraded shares to Hold from Buy in June, writing that the regulatory and commercial timelines had attracted "various degrees of skepticism." It's easy to see his argument. Only adding to the scrutiny has beeb the stock's momentous gain this year despite Oklo being pre-revenue. Through Friday's close, shares were up 537%.

Other analysts have been considerably more bullish. Wedbush analysts reiterated a Buy rating on the stock while hiking their price target to $150 from $80 in a note Sunday evening, ahead of the announcement.

Analysts led by Daniel Ives posited that April's executive orders represented "a significant tailwind for the industry," with Oklo being "one of the main beneficiaries of the significantly increased U.S. government support for nuclear energy that is prioritizing speed."

Still, shares were falling 1.8% to $132.80 in premarket trading Monday following the announcement. Peer NuScale Power was down 2.6%, while futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 were down 0.3%.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

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September 22, 2025 07:56 ET (11:56 GMT)

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