Uranium names slide as Kazatomprom plans 9% production hike this year

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Shares of uranium producers posted losses Monday after Kazatomprom, the world's top uranium producer, forecast output for uranium oxide will increase ~9% this year [https://www.mining.com/kazatomprom-plans-9-uranium-output-rise-this-year/] to 71.5M-75.4M lbs, mostly due to the ramp-up at its Budenovskoye joint venture with Russia in Kazakhstan.

The planned production range is 5% lower than its state-granted amount but 6% higher than BMO Capital estimated, analyst Alexander Pearce said.

"The update could see some modest pressure on uranium prices via a slightly reduced supply deficit near-term," Pearce wrote.

The report weighed on most nuclear-related stocks Monday, including Cameco (CCJ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CCJ]) -2.6%, Lightbridge (LTBR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/LTBR]) -2.6%, Ur-Energy (URG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/URG]) -2.8%, NexGen Energy (NXE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NXE]) -3.4%, Centrus Energy (LEU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/LEU]) -4%, Denison Mines (DNN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DNN]) -4.5%, Uranium Energy (UEC [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/UEC]) -5.3%, Nuscale Power (SMR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SMR]) -5.7%, Nano Nuclear Energy (NNE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NNE]) -5.7%, Energy Fuels (UUUU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/UUUU]) -6.4%, Oklo (OKLO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/OKLO]) -7.5%.

The guidance boost positions Kazatomprom to take advantage of rising spot uranium prices, which currently trade at their highest level in two years at ~$99.25/lb after closing FY 2025 at $63.50/lb.

Kazatomprom's reported its average realized price of $64.18/lb for Q4 2025 was 9% below BMO's estimates and came at a 20% discount to the average spot price of ~$80/lb. in the quarter, which "likely partially reflects timing of shipments and volatility of spot," Pearce wrote.

ETFs: (URA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/URA]), (NLR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NLR]), (URNM [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/URNM])

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* NLR: This Is Why Uranium Prices Can Soar Like Gold And Silver [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4859774-nlr-this-is-why-uranium-prices-can-soar-like-gold-and-silver]
* Uranium 2026: Why I'm Switching ETFs, From URA To NLR [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4857861-uranium-2026-why-im-switching-etfs-from-ura-to-nlr]