Vistra passes Nvidia to become S&P 500’s top gainer this year

Vistra (NYSE:VST) is now this year’s best performing stock on the S&P 500, passing Nvidia (NVDA) after closing +5.9% on Wednesday to an all-time intraday high of $120.61 for its 13th consecutive daily gain.

Vistra (VST) shares have more than tripled YTD and surged 39% in September alone, reflecting a rising awareness among investors of the increased power requirements for artificial intelligence and broad electrification, MarketWatch‘s Emily Barry says.

“The grid is going to be super tight in terms of supply/demand, and there’s just not enough new capacity coming online because that takes time,” according to Jefferies analyst Antoine Aurimond, who has a Buy rating and raised his price target to $137 from $99.

Vistra (VST), like Constellation Energy (CEG), operates nuclear plants, and investors have been excited about recent high-profile nuclear power deals involving major AI hyperscalers.

But nuclear plants are very costly and time consuming to build, which is why companies likely will not move in that direction, Aurimond tells MarketWatch, and even though Vistra (VST) has a smaller nuclear fleet than Constellation (CEG), the company may be better positioned for power trends, as it is “one of the biggest holders of efficient gas plants across the country” and that could be “a huge source of upside,” the analyst said.

While Constellation (CEG) signed the nuclear agreement with Microsoft and Talen Energy (TLN) struck a deal with Amazon earlier this year, Vistra (VST) has not yet signed such a contracted arrangement, and investors have come to expect that the company will soon have a deal of its own, Aurimond said.

Morgan Stanley analyst David Arcaro also raised his price target on Vistra (VST), to $132 from $110.