Shares of Cameco (CCJ 1.87%) fell on Thursday, finishing the day down 5.3%. The move came as the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.92%) lost 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 1.51%) dropped 1.9%.
Cameco, the world's largest provider of uranium, saw its stock fall after its CEO clarified the U.S. government's role in a massive deal announced last week.
NYSE: CCJ
Key Data Points
The U.S. government is interested in Westinghouse
Last week, Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management announced a new partnership with the U.S. Commerce Department that will see new nuclear reactors built worth an estimated $80 billion. The reactors come from Westinghouse Electric Company -- owned jointly by both companies.
Image source: Getty Images.
The announcement sparked rumors that the federal government could take a direct role in supporting Cameco as it has with several strategically important companies to date, such as its equity stake in Intel. However, CEO Tim Gitzel clarified during Wednesday's earnings call that "the U.S. government partnership interest does not extend to Cameco's core business," saying that he needed to "directly address some of the misinformation we've seen published in the last few days."
Nuclear is in demand
While it may not be the beneficiary of a direct investment, Cameco still stands to gain considerably from the deal, and the company is in a key position to capitalize on the current spike in demand for nuclear energy. I think this is a stock you want to own.
