Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) Shares Up 6.6% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Intuitive Machines shares rose 6.6% to $14.79, but remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company has a $3.39 billion market capitalization and a high beta of 1.85.
• Analysts maintain a generally favorable outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $30.50. However, the company missed quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting an adjusted loss of $0.29 per share.
• Insiders sold roughly $159.4 million of stock during the last quarter, including major reductions by director Kamal Ghaffarian and shareholder Advent International. Institutional investors own 72.21% of the company.

Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR - Get Free Report) shares were up 6.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $15.18 and last traded at $14.79. Approximately 8,246,758 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 12,183,311 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LUNR. Roth Capital set a $30.00 price target on Intuitive Machines in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Intuitive Machines from $43.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Intuitive Machines from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Intuitive Machines in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on Intuitive Machines from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.50.

Intuitive Machines Trading Up 6.6%

The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.57 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.59.

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $206.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.32 million. Equities analysts forecast that Intuitive Machines, Inc. will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kamal Ghaffarian sold 267,448 shares of Intuitive Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.17, for a total value of $4,324,634.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,494,768 shares in the company, valued at $56,510,398.56. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 11,495,514 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.84, for a total transaction of $147,602,399.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,495,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,602,399.76. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 12,193,437 shares of company stock valued at $159,377,936 in the last quarter. 54.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Machines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUNR. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Intuitive Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,452,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in shares of Intuitive Machines by 538.9% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 171,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,676,000 after acquiring an additional 144,957 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Machines in the second quarter valued at about $1,732,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Intuitive Machines during the second quarter worth about $88,000. Finally, Connective Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Intuitive Machines during the second quarter worth about $393,000. 72.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Intuitive Machines Company Profile

Intuitive Machines, Inc is a space exploration and infrastructure company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company develops and delivers lunar missions, spacecraft, and related services for government and commercial customers, with a focus on supporting a sustainable presence on the Moon.

Its activities include lunar payload delivery, spacecraft and lander development, lunar communications and navigation services, and the collection and transmission of data from the lunar surface. Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lunar lander is designed to transport scientific instruments, technology demonstrations, and other payloads to the Moon.

Founded in 2013 by Stephen Altemus, who serves as president and chief executive officer, Intuitive Machines has supported NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.

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