Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) Trading 3.3% Higher - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Intuitive Machines shares rose 3.3% to $16.24, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $30.50.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting an adjusted loss of $0.29 per share versus the projected $0.09 loss and revenue of $206.17 million versus estimates of $212.32 million.
• Insiders sold approximately $161.5 million of stock over the past 90 days, although institutional investors hold a substantial 72.21% stake in the company.

Shares of Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR - Get Free Report) rose 3.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $16.26 and last traded at $16.24. Approximately 8,295,328 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 12,179,293 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LUNR. Roth Capital set a $30.00 price objective on Intuitive Machines in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research raised Intuitive Machines from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Intuitive Machines from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Intuitive Machines from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Intuitive Machines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $26.00 in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.50.

Intuitive Machines Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.09 and a beta of 1.85. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $15.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.53.

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $206.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.32 million. On average, research analysts predict that Intuitive Machines, Inc. will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intuitive Machines news, SVP Timothy Crain, II sold 50,000 shares of Intuitive Machines stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.05, for a total value of $752,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 351,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,286,748.95. The trade was a 12.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Vontur sold 3,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.13, for a total transaction of $49,196.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 113,997 shares in the company, valued at $1,838,771.61. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,343,437 shares of company stock worth $161,528,436. Company insiders own 54.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Intuitive Machines

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its stake in Intuitive Machines by 139,768.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 3,105,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,418,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102,854 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Intuitive Machines in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,452,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuitive Machines during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,895,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Intuitive Machines by 188.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,882,973 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,948,000 after buying an additional 1,231,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 202.1% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 461,564 shares of the company's stock worth $8,567,000 after buying an additional 308,755 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.21% of the company's stock.

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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