To identify future-proof stocks, investors must be nothing less than meticulous when it comes to their due diligence processes, ruthlessly disregarding names that fail to measure up to their tenets for long-term conviction.
While research is part art and part science, and will therefore differ from one investor to the next, what we all have in common is a quest for companies making a tangible difference in their industries, adding value that legacy operators either failed or neglected to unlock. It’s only by differentiating themselves in this fashion that companies stand a chance at fostering shareholder value and achieving long-term growth.
Accordingly, in the latest edition of Stockhouse’s Weekly Market Movers, I’ll run through a pair of stocks whose underlying companies are playing their part to push their industries forward, granting them data-driven shots at leadership positions, while offering investors an opportunity to pick up shares before the majority of growth is priced in.
Yellow Cake
Our first candidate for future-proof stock is Yellow Cake, market capitalization US$1.81 billion, whose operations focus on buying and holding physical triuranium octoxide (U3O8), currently holding 21.7 million pounds of the critical mineral stored with industry leaders Orano in France and Cameco (TSX:CCO) in Canada.
This article is disseminated in partnership with Yellow Cake plc and PainReform Ltd. It is intended to inform investors and should not be taken as a recommendation or financial advice.
The company stands out from competitors thanks to its ten-year U3O8 supply agreement with Russia’s Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium producer, granting it the ability to purchase up to US$100 million U3O8 per year at the spot price (through 2027) and offer investors pure-play exposure.
Russia sits at the top of the global uranium conversion and enrichment supply chain and continues to supply the US and EU, even today, though a US ban on Russian imports will begin in 2028, making Yellow Cake an important lifeline for investors seeking access to the uranium leader despite geopolitical tensions.
Yellow Cake strengthens its value proposition with a low-cost outsourced business model and no management fee, such as those charged by uranium ETFs, facilitating the long-term time horizon required to capitalize on the uranium market’s expected exponential growth. Driving factors behind this tailwind include:
- The mineral’s ability to deliver dense, zero-emission energy capable of expediting the green energy transition.
- The global scramble for domestic energy independence spurred on by black swan event such as the COVID pandemic and abrasive US tariff policy.
- The AI industry’s insatiable hunger for energy to train machine learning models and offer users ever better data processing speeds, with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta and NVIDIA committed to developing nuclear power.
With UxC estimating a 2.1 billion pound uranium shortfall through 2040 because of historical underinvestment and the decade-plus it takes to usher a new mine into production, and the US ban on Russian uranium expected to tighten supply, Yellow Cake is in an ideal position to capture expected price increases and pass this value into investors’ pockets.
Andre Liebenberg, Yellow Cake’s chief executive officer, joined Ricki Lee to discuss a new US$175 million capital raise and what it means for the company’s growth plans. Watch the interview here.
Yellow Cake stock (OTCQX:YLLXF) last traded at US$7.54 and has more than doubled over the past five years.
PainReform
Second in our pair of potentially future-proof stocks is PainReform, market capitalization C$2.5 million, a company applying precision technologies in high-impact sectors, whose current dual mandate spans healthcare and clean energy.
In the healthcare realm, PainReform is advancing and commercializing an extended-release drug-delivery system to extend post-surgical pain relief and minimize opioid use, eyeing an more than US$42 billion market.
The company’s flagship product under this vertical is PRF-110, an oil-based solution for surgical wounds currently in phase-II trials, with studies demonstrating 48 hours of pain reduction in healthy individuals and up to 72 hours in a clinical setting. Low production costs set the company up to rapidly scale into market demand.
Other value-added products in the pre-clinical stage include PRF-120 to block nerves and treat neuropathic pain, PRF-130 for osteomyelitis and PRF-140 for the administration of chemotherapy.
Meanwhile, in the clean energy sector, PainReform’s DeepSolar subsidiary is developing AI-driven technology to optimize energy consumption with a focus on solar power. The technology is expected to increase energy production and minimize operational inefficiencies, cutting maintenance expenses by up to 30 per cent, with ongoing initiatives in home energy management, as well as one of Romania’s largest solar projects, planting initial seeds towards DeepSolar ramping up high-margin recurring revenue.
By improving patient quality of life and optimizing solar energy output, PainReform clearly fits our bill when it comes to making a tangible difference in its target markets, shaking up the status quo with offerings that are clear improvements from conventional approaches.
Sharon Haven, PainReform’s vice president of product development, spoke with Ricki Lee about DeepSolar’s acceptance into NVIDIA’s Connect Program, which was founded to accelerate software developers building potentially revolutionary AI solutions. Watch the interview here.
PainReform stock (NASDAQ:PRFX) last traded at US$1.24 and has given back 50.20 per cent year-over-year.
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you next week for a new edition of Weekly Market Movers, where I delve into companies that sat down with Stockhouse for an interview over the past week. Here’s the most recent article, in case you missed it.
Join the discussion: Find out what investors are saying about these future-proof stocks on the Yellow Cake plc and PainReform Ltd. Bullboards, and make sure to explore the rest of Stockhouse’s stock forums and message boards.
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