NuScale Power (SMR) Plummets 14% Intraday: What’s Fueling the Selloff Amid Landmark SMR Deals and Shareholder Sales?

Summary
• NuScale Power’s stock (SMR) plunges 14.02% to $32.99, erasing $5.4B in market cap
• Majority shareholder Fluor sells 15M shares for $605M, reducing ownership to 39%
• TVA-ENTRA1 SMR deployment deal announced in September sparks regulatory and execution risks debate

NuScale Power’s (SMR) 14% intraday freefall has ignited investor scrutiny, with the stock trading near its 52-week low of $11.08. The selloff follows Fluor’s strategic exit of 15M Class A shares and mixed market sentiment around the company’s 6GW SMR deployment with TVA. Technical indicators and options activity suggest a critical juncture for the stock, as traders weigh regulatory hurdles against long-term nuclear energy tailwinds.

Fluor’s Strategic Exit and Regulatory Uncertainty Trigger Panic
NuScale Power’s (SMR) sharp decline stems from Fluor Corp.’s $605M sale of 15M Class A shares, signaling a strategic shift by the majority shareholder. While Fluor retains 39% ownership via Class B units, the open-market exit has spooked investors, amplifying concerns about execution risks for NuScale’s TVA-ENTRA1 SMR project. Despite the 6GW deployment being hailed as the largest SMR initiative in U.S. history, regulatory delays, supply chain bottlenecks, and competition from GE Vernova and BWX Technologies have created a volatile backdrop. The stock’s 19.89% turnover rate and -148.51x PE ratio underscore the market’s skepticism about near-term profitability.

Nuclear Sector Volatility as GE Vernova (GEV) Also Retreats
The nuclear energy sector is under pressure, with GE Vernova (GEV) down 3.98% intraday, reflecting broader investor caution. While NuScale’s SMR technology leads in U.S. regulatory approvals, GE Vernova’s BWRX-300 SMR and BWX Technologies’ TRISO fuel partnerships highlight intensifying competition. NuScale’s 30.51x P/B ratio, compared to the sector’s 11.15x, suggests it remains a speculative play, with valuation multiples outpacing fundamentals. The sector’s mixed performance underscores the challenge of balancing long-term energy transition narratives with short-term execution risks.

Options and ETF Playbook: Navigating NuScale’s Volatility
• 200-day MA: $29.68 (below current price) • RSI: 52.09 (neutral) • MACD: 1.49 (bullish) • Bollinger Bands: $32.51–$49.85 (bearish contraction)

NuScale’s technicals suggest a bearish near-term bias, with the 200-day MA at $29.68 acting as a critical support level. The stock’s 19.89% turnover rate and -148.51x PE ratio indicate weak short-term fundamentals. For options traders, the SMR20251031P32 and SMR20251031P32.5 contracts stand out:

• SMR20251031P32 (Put):
- Strike: $32 | IV: 120.52% | Delta: -0.4026 | Theta: -0.0658 | Gamma: 0.0589 | Turnover: $79,004
- IV (high volatility) | Delta (moderate sensitivity) | Theta (modest time decay) | Gamma (responsive to price swings)
- This put option offers a 251.67% price change potential if NuScale breaks below $32, with leverage at 15.45%. A 5% downside scenario (to $31.34) would yield a $0.66 payoff, making it ideal for short-term bearish bets.

• SMR20251031P32.5 (Put):
- Strike: $32.5 | IV: 107.08% | Delta: -0.4339 | Theta: -0.0496 | Gamma: 0.0674 | Turnover: $23,469
- IV (moderate volatility) | Delta (strong sensitivity) | Theta (slow time decay) | Gamma (high responsiveness)
- This contract provides 117.71% price change potential with 15.75% leverage. A 5% drop to $31.34 would generate a $0.46 payoff, balancing risk and reward for traders expecting a test of key support levels.

Action Alert: Aggressive bears should target SMR20251031P32 if NuScale breaks below $32.50. Watch for a breakdown of the 200-day MA at $29.68 to confirm a bearish trend.

Backtest NuScale Power Stock Performance
Below is your interactive back-test dashboard. Scroll through the visual to explore detailed performance curves, cumulative P&L, win-rate heatmaps and holding-period analytics for SMR.N after every –14 % (or worse) intraday plunge since 2022-01-03.Key takeaways (summary):• Sample size: 71 plunges. • Median 5-day drift: +1.75 %; 30-day cumulative gain: +18.8 % vs +10.7 % benchmark. • Win-rate rises from ~45 % on day 1 to ~57 % by day 30, suggesting modest mean-reversion upside. • No horizon shows returns statistically significant at the 5 % level, indicating variability remains high. • Best relative performance cluster appears around 20–30 trading days post-event.Feel free to drill down in the dashboard for exact trade-level details, distribution plots and significance tests.

Critical Crossroads: NuScale’s SMR Gambit and Sector Headwinds
NuScale Power’s (SMR) 14% intraday plunge reflects a perfect storm of shareholder exits, regulatory uncertainty, and sector-wide skepticism. While the TVA-ENTRA1 SMR deal represents a transformative opportunity, execution risks and competition from GE Vernova (GEV, -3.98%) loom large. Traders should monitor the $32.50 support level and the 200-day MA at $29.68 for directional clues. For now, the SMR20251031P32 put offers a high-leverage play on a potential breakdown, but patience is key as the stock navigates a volatile crossroads between long-term energy transition hopes and near-term execution challenges.