The news: Uranium miners advanced on the ASX after independent modelling claimed that the path to net zero would be $263 billion cheaper under the Coalition’s nuclear energy plan by 2050, compared to Labor’s current renewables strategy.
The numbers: Uranium majors Paladin Energy (4%), Deep Yellow (1.2%) and Boss Energy (1%) were all trading higher by 12:20pm AEDT.
Energy, up 0.21%, was the only sector in green as the ASX 200 index fell 0.63%.
The context: The modelling by Frontier Economics claims that the total cost of the Coalition’s plan over the 25 years to 2050 is estimated to be $331 billion, compared to around $600 billion under Labor’s pathway.
Opposition Leader Petter Dutton’s greater focus on nuclear energy has previously been met with skepticism from energy experts and economists, who expect the approach to be more costly than Labor’s heavier reliance on renewables.
Elsewhere, Bell Potter retained its ‘buy’ rating on Boss but cut its target price from $5.70 to $4.70. Analyst Regan Burrows noted that Boss is the second most shorted stock on the ASX, with short interest accounting for around 14.4% of shares.
Burrows flagged that the stock is now 22% lower over the last month, as the uranium price retreated 1.8%.
Meanwhile, UBS analysts said while they remain positive on uranium’s medium- and long-term outlook, they are less convinced of material shifts in supply-demand impulses in the immediate future.
UBS lowered its uranium price forecasts by 9% in CY25 and 6% in CY26, to US$78 ($122.50) and US$80 per pound respectively, pushing earnings downgrades on Paladin and Boss.
However, its analysts said that uranium equities have overcorrected, with UBS remaining ‘buy’ rated on the major stocks.
The sources: Bell Potter research, UBS research