It's time to buy the dip in nuclear and uranium ETFs, Bank of America says

Published Wed, Feb 28 20241:06 PM ESTUpdated Wed, Feb 28 20242:56 PM EST

Jesse Pound @/in/jesse-pound @jesserpound

Uranium stocks have cooled off in recent weeks, making this a good time for investors to jump in, according to Bank of America. Many of the biggest uranium stocks such as Cameco Corp. are down about 14% in February. Bank of America ETF strategist Jared Woodard said in a note to clients Tuesday night that the dip should be seen as an anomaly on a long-term winning trade. "Nuclear stocks have outperformed the Nasdaq 100 by nearly 200% since COVID lows … Since 2021 clean energy ETFs with heavy exposure to wind and solar power have suffered a sharp bear market ( > 30% losses and $2.4bn outflows), but over the same period investors added $2bn into uranium & nuclear power ETFs," Woodard said. An example of a uranium fund that is seeing such a blip is the Global X Uranium ETF (URA) , which is Woodard's top pick in this space. The fund traded above $32 per share on Feb. 1, but closed at $28.01 on Tuesday. URA YTD mountain The popular URA ETF has struggled in February. "URA is in a correction, down 15% from early February highs. Our fundamental analysts expect recent weakness in the fund's large holdings like Cameco, Yellow Cake PLC, and Kazatomprom to be temporary," the note said. URA could also have technical support near the $27 level that helps create a rebound, according to Bank of America. The fund has about $2.7 billion of assets and an expense ratio of 0.69%, according to FactSet. The focus of green energy investing has largely been focused on solar projects over the past couple of years, but nuclear is gaining support. Canaccord Genuity analyst George Gianarikas said in a Tuesday note to clients that government policy changes at the state level show that there appears to be growing momentum toward the U.S. embracing nuclear power. "Overall, Americans are more supportive of nuclear power now than they've been in the last decade," Gianarikas said. Another uranium fund that Bank of America is bullish on is VanEck Uranium and Nuclear Energy ETF (NLR) . That fund is down more than 3% in February, erasing more than half of its gains in January. NLR is a much smaller fund than URA, with only about $150 million in assets, according to FactSet. It has an expense ratio of 0.61%. A key difference between the two funds is that NLR has large weights in utility stocks such as Public Service Enterprise Group , while URA is more heavily focused on uranium stocks and the Canada-based Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (SRUUF) . — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting.