The nuclear trade came roaring back Tuesday, with a trio of leveraged ETFs tied to NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR) among the session’s biggest gainers.
The Tradr 2X Long SMR Daily ETF (BATS:SMU) jumped 30.98%, while the T-REX 2X Long SMR Daily Target ETF (BATS:SMUP) also gained more than 30.8%. The Corgi SMR 2x Daily ETF (BATS:SMRX) posted a gain of more than 37%.
The explosive moves came as NuScale shares surged more than 16%, extending a recent rebound in the small modular reactor developer.
What Sparked the SMR Rally?
NuScale has been in the spotlight after announcing several developments around its small modular reactor technology.
The company and its manufacturing partner, MillenniTEK, recently produced first-of-a-kind boron-oxide pellets for the passive emergency core cooling system in NuScale’s NRC-approved reactor design. The milestone aims to advance manufacturing and supply-chain readiness for future commercial deployments.
NuScale has also been deploying nuclear-specific AI tools to accelerate engineering and knowledge management, while a separate contract with Paragon is advancing the protection and control systems for its reactor module.
Still, Tuesday’s rally was not purely a NuScale-specific story. Nuclear and SMR stocks broadly attracted buying, with Oklo Inc (NASDAQ:OKLO) and other nuclear names also moving higher. Analysts described the move as part of renewed appetite for the nuclear sector, helped by expectations for rising power demand from AI data centers and continued support for advanced nuclear energy.
Leverage Turns the Move Explosive
Sharp gains in SMR-linked ETFs show how quickly leverage can amplify a single-stock rally.
SMUP, for instance, seeks 200% of NuScale’s daily performance. That means a 15% one-day gain in SMR can theoretically translate into roughly a 30% gain for the ETF before fees, expenses, and tracking differences.
That amplification works just as brutally in reverse. Because these products reset their exposure daily, they are designed for short-term trading rather than simply holding for months or years.
For instance, SMRX is trading at a new 52-week high, according to Benzinga Pro data. The ETF has experienced significant volatility over the past year, with its 52-week range spanning from a low of $16.70 to a high of $33.23, reflecting a notable 98% price fluctuation.
This level of variability may indicate heightened investor sentiment and speculative trading, particularly in leveraged ETFs, which are often influenced by broader market trends and investor risk appetite. As such, its performance could be closely tied to macroeconomic factors and sector-specific developments in the coming months.
Tuesday’s action therefore offered a vivid example of the increasingly speculative side of the nuclear ETF boom. A sharp rebound in one SMR stock was enough to turn leveraged ETFs into some of the market’s biggest movers.
Photo: FilipArtLab from Shutterstock
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