Shares in Vistra (VST -1.57%) rose by an incredible 257.9% in 2024, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company started the year as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company, and it ended the year by becoming one of the year's hottest artificial intelligence (AI) plays on the market.AI and nuclear powerThe boom in AI applications in 2024 brought with it the concomitant need to invest in data centers to support that growth. I'll get to Vistra's role in a mome ...