Somebody Knew Something…

At least that’s what I think – look at this chart:

USU 1 month chart

THis is the chart for USEC (USU) a uranium mining and processing company. A press release came out today announcing that the US DOE has granted them further funding for their project. Here is part of that release:

Under the 80-20 split, DOE’s total contribution would be up to $280 million, and USEC’s would be up to $70 million. With this latest increment, DOE’s funding now stands at $227.7 million, which takes the program through the end of the current federal government fiscal year on September 30.

DOE’s remaining cost share of up to $52.3 million is conditioned upon the availability of appropriations or other sources of consideration and on USEC continuing to meet all milestones and deliverables on schedule. The company is continuing to work with Congress and the administration to obtain funding for the remaining DOE cost-share needed to fund the RD&D program to completion in December 2013. The administration included transfer authority of $48 million to fund the program in the President’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget proposal and the same funding level is in the FY2014 Energy and Water Appropriations bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 10, 2013 and in the Senate version of the bill reported to the Senate by the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 27, 2013. USEC believes that this level of funding, if provided, would be sufficient to complete the RD&D program, though there are no assurances the additional funding will be made available.

It would be understandable that the stock be up today big (and it is) but why did it go from 2.60 to ~20 quickly, before today? Did somebody know something?

Disclosure – I do not own USU but I do have a small position in URA, an exchange traded fund of uranium mining companies that may hold USU (not in top 10 per Yahoo Finance). And I do not recommend this. It’s something I hold but may sell at any time. Do not take this article as advice. And I certainly wouldn’t be “chasing” these stocks higher here.