S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) uranium stocks have broadly rewarded shareholders amid a surge in global demand for the radioactive fuel.

Some top producers have now even entered the prized and highly elusive 10-bagger zone. That's a stock that returns 10 times its initial investment, or 900%.

Enter Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN).

Five years ago, you could have picked up Paladin Energy stock for 14 cents per share. At the time uranium was selling for around US$25 per pound.

But amid renewed global interest in nuclear power as a reliable baseload source with no direct carbon emissions, uranium prices began to lift off in late 2021, offering some heady tailwinds for ASX 200 uranium stocks.

Uranium prices averaged at just under US$67 per pound in 2023 before hitting record highs of more than US$106 per pound in early February this year. Prices have since retraced from those all-time highs to just under US$88 per pound this week.

The big 2024 price lift was driven by a nuclear expansion pledge from 22 nations at December's COP28 climate conference. The countries, including Japan, the United States and France, promised to triple their nuclear power capacity by 2050.

And this comes as the world's two most populous countries, India and China, continue to lead the charge in nuclear power plant construction.

With all these tailwinds behind it, the Paladin Energy share price has soared to $1.51 in intraday trade today.

Meaning the ASX 200 uranium stock has edged past 10-bagger status to return a whopping 978.6% over five years (or 10.786 times your investment).

That's enough to turn a $10,000 investment into a sizeable nest egg of $107,857.

The Paladin Energy share price shows little sign of slowing down.

The ASX 200 uranium stock is up 3.1% today and up 23.8% over the past month.

On Tuesday, the company stirred up fresh excitement when it reported that uranium production at its Langer Heinrich Mine (LHM) in Namibia had commenced.

With Paladin now able to capitalise on historically high uranium prices, Bell Potter upgraded its rating to a 'buy' with an increased price target of $1.65.

That represents a potential 9.3% gain from the recent Paladin Energy share price.

The broker said Paladin's Tuesday announcement marked "an important milestone in returning LHM to production and the first step towards targeting a 6Mlb pa run-rate".

They said the ASX 200 uranium stock will now "build inventory for approximately 3-months we estimate, putting them in a position to begin shipments at the end of 4QFY24 or beginning 1QFY25".