What happened Shares of uranium miners Energy Fuels (NYSEMKT: UUUU), Cameco (NYSE: CCJ), and NexGen Energy (NYSEMKT: NXE) stocks all dropped in afternoon trading Monday, falling 7.5%, 8.7%, and 9.2%, respectively, through 12:30 p.m. EDT. That's curious, considering how the price of uranium has been behaving lately. Image source: Getty Images. So what Since its most recent bottom in late April, the spot price on uranium has run up 12.5% to $30.26 per pound today -- and you'd think that investors in miners Energy Fuels, Cameco, and NexGen would take that as good news, but here's the thing: Today's uranium price is roughly equal to what the atomic power raw material cost 11 months ago, in July 2020. It's not so much a spike in price we're seeing, therefore, as a climb back toward normal. It also may not be enough to turn these companies profitable. Now what As MiningReview.com points out today, you need to see spot uranium prices around $60 per pound to "incentivize" producers to mine more uranium. And you can probably take that price point as a proxy for when prices are good enough that miners can earn a decent profit from mining the stuff. So despite the Biden administration's protestations that it sees nuclear power as "a key part of our clean energy future," and despite the administration budgeting a record $1.85 billion "to support existing and advanced nuclear technologies" in its latest budget, the simple fact remains that Cameco stock has been unprofitable for more than a year, NexGen Energy hasn't earned a full-year profit since 2018 (and was only barely profitable then), and Energy Fuels has been unprofitable since 2012 (according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence). A pound of uranium sold for more than $50 (before inflation) back in 2012, by the way, which suggests both that MiningReview's assessment of the necessary price for profitability is probably correct, and that prices still aren't anywhere near where they need to be for these companies to earn a profit today. Uranium Spot Price data by YCharts. 10 stocks we like better than CamecoWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Cameco wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of June 7, 2021 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source