Key Points
Oklo is building out a unique role in the nuclear power field with its fuel fabrication, power production, and fuel recycling.
Over the next year, one price target suggests Oklo could trade nearly 90% higher.
It's still a pre-revenue company and a highly speculative investment, especially for building a retirement nest egg.
As expenses keep rising, Americans 65 and older may be seeing a shortfall between what they are bringing in and what they are spending. According to research from The Motley Fool, in 2024, the median annual income for Americans 65 and older was $56,680, while households headed by someone who lists their occupation as retired spent an average of $59,616.
Ahead of retirement, stats like that may have some people on the hunt for stocks that could add more cushioning for when it's time to stop working. One such growth stock attracting significant interest is the nuclear power company Oklo (NYSE: OKLO).
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A $2,000 investment in Oklo today could certainly become worth more in the future, but whether it's enough to help fuel a dream retirement or even just offer more of a cushion is a different question.
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Why a $2,000 investment isn't enough
What everyone wants and needs in retirement is based on individual circumstances. But we can look at some broad scenarios for whether Oklo could provide a nice-sized nest egg in retirement. For instance, the Oklo stock would need to trade at $2,154 per share for a $2,000 investment to turn into $100,000.
Looking at two more scenarios, Oklo would need to reach $10,771 per share to turn that $2,000 investment into $500,000. To turn that $2,000 investment into $1 million, Oklo would need to trade at $21,542 per share.
That tells us a one-time investment of $2,000 in Oklo is not enough to be a major contributor toward any retirement planning. Since it's a pre-revenue growth stock, relying heavily on Oklo as part of any retirement plan is also risky.
What's ahead for Oklo
Oklo lacks commercial operations, so investing in it is all about what it can do in the future and the unique position it can establish in the nuclear energy space. It's developing a vertically integrated business model that allows continuous power generation, as it not only sells the power and heat its reactors generate but also recycles fuel for reuse in the reactors.
To lock in a deal and help move Oklo's commercialization efforts along, Meta Platforms signed an agreement with Oklo in January to prepay for power and to provide funding for its reactor project in Ohio. Its powerhouse facility is expected to deliver up to its full power target of 1.2 gigawatts by 2034.
Oklo also announced a collaboration with Nvidia and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in April that could bear fruit. In the announcement, Oklo said:
Projects under the agreement include integrated full-stack solutions to support nuclear powered AI factories; AI development, including physics and chemistry trained AI models to support nuclear fuel R&D; grid stabilization, reliability, and redundancy studies; materials science efforts focused on plutonium-bearing fuel; and proof of concept work related to the development of a nuclear powered AI factory.
What to consider next
Among the 22 analysts tracked by CNN, the median price target for Oklo over the next year is $84. As of this writing, that would be a gain of around 90%, showing there could be plenty of upside.
That said, there's still plenty of execution risk in what Oklo is trying to accomplish, and without commercial operations, it could still be years before Oklo would reach that median price target. Simply put, a $2,000 investment today isn't going to create a windfall for retirement.
Jack Delaney has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.