Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) Trading Up 5.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares rose 5.5% to about $25.20 on Thursday (intraday high $25.35) on light volume of ~4.49M shares versus an average of ~12.63M; the company has a market cap of $5.5B and a negative P/E (-34.27).
• Analysts are mixed with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target of $19.94, though Cantor Fitzgerald recently raised its target to $26 and the street breakdown is eight Buys, three Holds and two Sells.
• Fundamentals show a slight EPS beat (reported -$0.04 vs. -$0.05 est.) but revenue missed ($44.79M vs. $53.37M est.), and insiders have been active sellers — including an SVP sale of 150,000 shares and ~798,623 insider shares sold (~$15.2M) in the last three months.

Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 5.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $25.35 and last traded at $25.2010. Approximately 4,493,281 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 12,630,839 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LUNR shares. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Intuitive Machines from $16.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Intuitive Machines from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.94.

Intuitive Machines Stock Up 6.2%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.53. The company has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.27 and a beta of 1.31.

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $44.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.37 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Intuitive Machines, Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intuitive Machines

In other news, SVP Timothy Price Crain II sold 150,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.55, for a total transaction of $2,632,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 359,726 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,313,191.30. This represents a 29.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven Vontur sold 4,343 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.44, for a total value of $75,741.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 117,047 shares in the company, valued at $2,041,299.68. The trade was a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 798,623 shares of company stock valued at $15,233,236 over the last three months. 39.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuitive Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 13.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,090,059 shares of the company's stock worth $64,067,000 after buying an additional 717,256 shares in the last quarter. Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania bought a new stake in Intuitive Machines during the fourth quarter worth $52,689,000. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,095,383 shares of the company's stock worth $50,238,000 after buying an additional 557,517 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,735,161 shares of the company's stock worth $44,399,000 after buying an additional 61,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 18.4% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,677,305 shares of the company's stock worth $28,165,000 after buying an additional 415,359 shares in the last quarter. 72.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intuitive Machines Company Profile

Intuitive Machines is a Houston, Texas–based aerospace company specializing in commercial lunar exploration and services. The firm develops end-to-end solutions for robotic missions to the Moon, providing spacecraft design, mission management, navigation, communications, and data services under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

Founded in 2013 by aerospace engineers Steve Altemus, Tim Crain and Kris Kimel, Intuitive Machines has grown from a small startup into one of the leading private entities pursuing lunar surface deliveries.

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