Centrus Energy is a “must-own” stock for any investor who wants to profit from the planned expansion of U.S. nuclear power to meet electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centers, according to Evercore ISI. Evercore initiated coverage of Centrus on Tuesday with the equivalent of a buy rating, giving it a 12-month price target of $145, implying upside of more than 50% from its Tuesday close at $92.57 per share. Centrus occupies a critical niche in the nuclear supply chain, Evercore analyst Nicholas Amicucci told clients in a note. Once the U.S. Enrichment Corporation, an arm of the Energy Department that was privatized in an initial public offering in 1998, Centrus is the only publicly traded company in the world tackling nuclear fuel enrichment. Centrus is also the only company licensed in the U.S. to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium, the fuel needed for small and micro nuclear reactors that are viewed as the future of the industry, Amicucci said. LEU 6M mountain Centrus shares over the past six months. Centrus has competitive advantage that will only widen over time because the barriers to entry in the enrichment industry are so high, the analyst said. Its current contracts with utilities extend through 2040. “The race is on to increase global nuclear capacity through various facility types (i.e. SMRs, microreactors, etc.) which will have relative winners and losers,” the analyst said. “One thing is clear, all of these facilities will need enriched uranium, which is where Centrus possesses a wide moat, especially in the U.S,” he also said.