Why this Trump-connected nuclear-power company's stock is rallying again

By Steve Gelsi

Fermi's stock fell below its IPO price last week but is bouncing back on positive comments from analysts and pacts with South Korean companies for its planned nuclear plants

Rick Perry, shown here with President Donald Trump in 2019 when Perry was secretary of energy, is a co-founder of Fermi Inc.

The company planning to build a massive data center and power complex in Texas named after President Donald Trump saw its stock-price rally on Monday after it announced pacts with South Korean companies during the president's visit to Asia.

In another catalyst for the stock, a number of Wall Street analysts also made upbeat comments about Fermi Inc. (FRMI), which went public earlier this month. All seven analysts surveyed by FactSet who initiated coverage were bullish. All of them work at firms that were underwriters of the company's initial public offering.

Fermi's stock, which has followed a volatile path since its IPO, rose 6.5% in recent morning trading on Monday. After the IPO priced at $21, the stock reached its highest close of $32.53 a share on Oct. 1, its first day of trading, only to fall to closing low of $19.84 a share on Oct. 23.

The company, which was formed on Jan. 10, 2025, already has a connection to Trump through co-founder Rick Perry, who served as energy secretary in Trump's first administration and is a former governor of Texas. It has a plan, called Project Matador, to develop, own and operate the Donald J. Trump Generating Plant, which Fermi says will house the world's largest hybrid energy and data infrastructure campus.

On Monday, Fermi said it inked a contract with South Korea-based Doosan Enerbility Co. (KR:034020) for the pressure vessels and steam generators needed for the Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors it is planning to build in Texas.

The company also said it is signing an engineering design contract with Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. (KR:000720) for four AP1000 reactors.

The announcements came during this week's visit by Trump to Asia for an economic summit, with meetings set up for talks on trade.

Analyst Vikram Malhotra at Mizuho Securities, which was one of the IPO's lead underwriters, wrote in a note to clients that he likes the potential reward from buying the stock relative to the risks, due partly to the company's plan to be both a landlord, as a real-estate investment trust, and a power generator.

Malhotra has a base-case stock-price target of $27, while his bull-case target of $45 for the stock is about 80% above current levels.

Nicholas Amicucci at Evercore ISI, which was also a lead underwriter, is the most bullish on the stock, with a base-case price target of $37, which implies about 48% upside from current levels. He believes the company's 99-year lease with Texas Tech University, where it is building Project Matador, will help speed regulatory approvals.

"Based on our knowledge of the entirety of the power ecosystem, we view Fermi as a key foundational holding for any investor seeking exposure to the secular AI/datacenter/power demand thematic," Amicucci wrote.

-Steve Gelsi

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10-27-25 1046ET