Oklo Stock Just Flipped — Here's What's Fueling The Sudden Surge

Oklo Inc OKLO shares are staging a massive reversal Wednesday morning after tumbling late Tuesday following an announcement that OpenAI’s Sam Altman is stepping down as chairman of the board.

What Happened: Oklo announced that Altman will step down as board chairman to open up opportunities for the company to pursue partnerships with hyperscalers, including a potential deal with OpenAI.

“We deeply appreciate Sam’s leadership and dedication to our mission. We are excited to continue working to bring scalable, clean energy to the AI sector and beyond, and to continue to explore strategic partnerships with leading AI companies, including potentially with OpenAI,” said Caroline Cochran, co-founder and COO of Oklo.

Nuclear startups gained momentum last year as hyperscalers explored nuclear energy solutions in an effort to keep up with the growing power demands of data centers. Data centers require constant, reliable electricity, and nuclear provides a zero-emission solution.

“Fission is an essential solution for meeting the growing energy demands of artificial intelligence and other critical industries,” Altman said in a statement late Tuesday.

“Under the leadership of Jake and Caroline, Oklo is well suited to meet these needs. As Oklo explores strategic partnerships to deploy clean energy at scale, particularly to enable the deployment of AI, I believe now is the right time for me to step down.”

Oklo made its public debut last year after merging with AltC Acquisition Corp, a SPAC backed by Altman. Altman had served as chair of Oklo’s board since 2015.

Check This Out: Oklo Stock Falls As Sam Altman Steps Down As Board Chair: ‘Now Is The Right Time’

Why It Matters: Oklo shares fell as much as 14% after news surfaced that Altman was stepping down. The stock has recovered all of its losses from Tuesday’s after-hours session and was surging higher at last check Wednesday morning following upbeat commentary from analysts.

HC Wainwright & Co. analyst Sameer Joshi initiated coverage on Oklo with a Buy rating and price target of $55. Analysts at B. Riley Securities also announced a Buy rating on the stock and set a price target of $58, citing new opportunities following Altman’s departure.

“We believe this move could accelerate Oklo’s ability to work with OpenAI by avoiding a conflict of interest in potential discussions between the companies,” B. Riley analysts said in a note to clients.

“We note that in addition to improving flexibility with OpenAI, we believe Altman’s departure could open dialogue with potential partners in the AI sector that would not have previously considered Oklo due to their competitive positioning with Altman.”

OKLO Price Action: Oklo shares were up 7.52% at $23.15 at the time of publication Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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