Intuitive Machines Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:LUNR)

Key Points

• Call-option trading surged: Traders bought 37,262 LUNR call options on Thursday, about 83% above the typical daily volume.
• Shares rose to $13.94 during Thursday trading, up $1.75. In its latest quarter, Intuitive Machines reported a loss of $0.02 per share and revenue of $269.35 million, beating analyst expectations on both measures.
• Analysts’ average rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $29.75. Insiders sold 391,263 shares worth about $6.1 million during the last quarter.

Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 37,262 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 83% compared to the typical daily volume of 20,315 call options.

Intuitive Machines Stock Performance

Shares of LUNR stock traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $13.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,979,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,484,086. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $12.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.33. Intuitive Machines has a 52 week low of $7.78 and a 52 week high of $46.75. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of -14.63 and a beta of 1.91.

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $269.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.90 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Intuitive Machines will post -0.60 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuitive Machines

In other news, SVP Timothy Crain, II sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.05, for a total transaction of $752,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 351,279 shares in the company, valued at $5,286,748.95. This trade represents a 12.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Vontur sold 3,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.13, for a total value of $49,196.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 113,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,838,771.61. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 391,263 shares of company stock worth $6,077,802. Insiders own 54.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuitive Machines

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUNR. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Intuitive Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Intuitive Machines during the third quarter worth $28,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Intuitive Machines during the first quarter worth $39,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 119.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 34.2% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,793 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. 72.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUNR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Intuitive Machines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $32.00 to $26.00 in a report on Friday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a report on Monday, September 21st. B. Riley Financial dropped their price target on shares of Intuitive Machines from $43.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Roth Capital set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Intuitive Machines in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Intuitive Machines from $38.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intuitive Machines currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.75.

About Intuitive Machines

Intuitive Machines is a space exploration and infrastructure company headquartered in Houston, Texas. It develops and operates lunar landers and provides services intended to support missions to the Moon and other space destinations. The company's offerings include lunar payload delivery, spacecraft and mission operations, and communications and data services. Its Nova-C lunar lander is designed to carry scientific instruments and other customer payloads to the lunar surface, including through NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.

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