Morgan Stanley said that while promises of a nuclear renaissance have failed to materialize in the past, there are signs that the hype may actually be real this time around. Analysts at the company see Curtiss-Wright Co., which supplies critical components for nuclear power plants, as a potential winner in the field. The investment bank raised its price target on Curtiss-Wright shares by $46 to $330, which would represent an upside of more than 17% from Friday’s closing price. The price increase is partly on a mark-to-market basis, with Curtiss-Wright shares up 26% this year and 17% over the past three months. But Morgan Stanley analysts led by Kristine Liwag told clients in a research note Thursday that the company’s growth story is also undervalued and that it is an attractive ” Pickaxe and Shovel” way to play on the nuclear renaissance theme. Curtiss-Wright built a critical reactor coolant pump for Westinghouse’s third-generation AP1000 nuclear power plant, and there is growing interest in these builds, particularly in Europe. Liwag and company said in the report: “We believe that future AP1000 sales remain an exciting source of potential upside for CW.” Morgan Stanley analysts said that due to the political focus on renewable energy and competitive prices, There is an emphasis on alternative energy sources, and discussions about a nuclear renaissance 15 years ago ended in failure. The 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan also strengthened safety reviews. But there are growing signs that an economic recovery is coming. Electricity demand is expected to surge, in part due to the growth of data centers and artificial intelligence. Demand is increasing as countries seek reliable, carbon-free energy to combat climate change. CW 1Y Mount Curtis Wright Co.’s Shares Over the Past Year Following a string of nuclear power plant closures over the past decade, the reactors are now being modernized to extend their useful lives as communities phase out coal and they become more interested in new nuclear power plants. Showed interest. Curtis-Wright predicts that 20 to 25 new third-generation nuclear power plants will be built in Europe in the next decade as European countries work to consolidate their energy independence after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In Morgan Stanley’s base case, Westinghouse wins 50% of the contract to build the AP1000, which Curtiss-Wright expects to bring in $1.5 billion in revenue for its reactor coolant pumps over five years. Each factory requires four such pumps. In the near future, Curtis White will benefit from the modernization of the existing plant to extend its service life. The company supplies all 94 reactors in the United States, all 19 reactors in Canada and plants in South Korea. Curtiss-Wright management says modernizing existing U.S. nuclear power plants will create an opportunity worth $7 billion by 2050. Morgan Stanley estimates that, under an optimistic scenario, Curtiss-Wright’s AP1000 production could generate $4.9 billion in revenue by 2050. In this scenario, the company’s valuation would rise to $488 per share, which represents a nearly 74% upside from Friday’s closing price.
