Cameco shares have more than doubled in the last year.Liam Richards/The Canadian Press
When Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Donald Trump in the White House in early May, the U.S. President rambled off a list of products, including cars and steel, that he said the United States did not need from Canada. Uranium was not on that list.
There is a good reason for the Trump administration to keep the door open to Canadian uranium. America’s nuclear power supply chain is currently vulnerable, with about 25 per cent of the country’s enriched uranium being sourced from Russia. That reality likely prompted U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright to champion the expansion of America’s uranium stockpiles as he was attending the International Atomic Energy Agency general conference in Vienna on Sept. 15 The news sparked renewed interest in uranium stocks which have already been in a bull market.
Cameco CCO-T shares have more than doubled over the past 12 months, and insiders at the uranium mining giant have been in profit-taking mode. As of Sept. 19, 14 Cameco insiders have sold just over $12.7-million worth of stock into the public market over the past six months. The 130,787 shares were sold at an average price of $97.34. During the same period, four insiders acquired a total of 91,325 shares through the exercise of options at strike prices ranging from $11.32 to $15.27.
Such insider profit-taking is not unusual given the stock’s rally, particularly given its pricey valuations. Last week, the stock had a trailing 12-month P/E ratio above 90. Weighed down by insider sales and high valuations, Cameco sits in the bottom 30 per cent of our INK Edge rankings based on valuations, insider buying and holdings, and price momentum. That said, Cameco does rank high in terms of price momentum, and it is conceivable that the stock could continue to rise despite insider profit-taking and its price tag. In our experience, insider selling in large companies can often take place months and even years before a stock enters a meaningful correction.
Uranium miner Cameco lowers 2025 production forecast amid McArthur River mine transition delays
In terms of actionable signals, we generally tend to favour insider buying over selling. On that front, two smaller names have hit our screens recently. Mega Uranium MGA-T is an investment and junior exploration company which is currently in the top 10 per cent of our rankings with a sunny INK Edge outlook. It caught our attention as a potential value play. Over the past six months, five insiders acquired just over 1.6 million shares, primarily through options. As of June 30, Mega Uranium’s investment portfolio had a fair value of $202-million while the stock’s current market cap is about $145-million.
As of midyear, the investment portfolio included 19,476,265 NexGen Energy NXE-T shares and 1,033,736 IsoEnergy ISO-T shares. As of Friday, NexGen shares are up year-to-date by 28 per cent and IsoEnergy is up 25.2 per cent, but Mega Uranium has risen only 16.6 per cent. If bullish uranium sentiment picks up more steam in the months ahead, junior names like Mega Uranium, which have lagged some larger names, could conceivably benefit from increased investor flows. Under such a scenario, the stock’s discount to net asset value could shrink as the stock plays catch-up.
The Canadian market is also in the fortuitous position of having exposure to mining names with operations in different parts of the world, including the United States. Anfield Energy AEC-X is focused on its Shootaring Canyon Mill and the Velvet-Wood and Slick Rock uranium and vanadium projects. Shootaring Canyon is one of three licensed, permitted, and constructed conventional uranium mills in the U.S. The mill and Velvet-Wood are in Utah while Slick Rock is nearby in Colorado. On May 13, Velvet-Wood became the first uranium project fast-tracked under Mr. Trump’s energy emergency declaration.
On May 27, the U.S. Department of the Interior completed its environmental permitting for the project. We often hear Mr, Carney talk about Canada building projects at speeds never imagined. The speed up of the Anfield approval shows the type of competition Canada is facing.
Despite the headlines, Anfield stock has failed to surpass its 52-week high of $10.13 set last October. Chief operating officer Daniel Bleak appears to see opportunity. On July 31, the company consolidated its shares on a 75 to 1 basis as it pursued a U.S. listing. Over the past three months, he has bought 7,750 at an average price of $7.95 on a post-consolidation basis. He now holds 267,006 shares representing about 1.7 per cent of all shares outstanding.
Ted Dixon is CEO of INK Research which provides insider news and knowledge to investors.