USEC RECEIVES ANOTHER DOE PAYMENT, STOCK JUMPS 50 PERCENT

USEC has received another planned payment from the Department of Energy for a program supporting its American Centrifuge project, and yesterday’s announcement may have contributed to a 50 percent boost in share price as USEC’s stock price continued its steep rise. USEC last week finalized an infusion of $29.9 million from DOE, which is expected to fund the program through the end of the fiscal year in September. The payment was provided for under the Continuing Resolution  passed by Congress earlier this year, and brings DOE’s total so far up to $227.7 million for the cost-share program launched in 2012, which is 20 percent funded by USEC. “To date, the program has achieved every milestone ahead of schedule and with solid results. The overall program remains on schedule and on budget,” USEC American Centrifuge President Paul Sullivan said in a statement yesterday.

USEC’s share price closed at $29.02 yesterday, more than 50 percent higher than the market’s open. USEC’s stock has surged in the past week, recovering from a low of $2.60 early in the month. It saw its share price more than double early last week. This comes after the company instituted a 25-to-one reverse stock split that aimed to bring the company’s share price over the New York Stock Exchange’s $1 minimum limit.