Traders Purchase Large Volume of Intuitive Machines Call Options (NASDAQ:LUNR)

Key Points

• Unusual bullish options activity: Investors purchased 41,940 call options on Intuitive Machines, about 19% above average volume. The stock rose 8.3% to $19.01 on heavy trading.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive: Eight analysts rate LUNR a Buy, with an average price target of $30.31, although the company’s latest quarterly loss of $0.29 per share missed expectations and revenue came in below forecasts.
• Insiders have been selling shares: Insiders sold 12.55 million shares worth approximately $173.4 million during the last quarter, including major shareholder Advent International cutting its position by half.

Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors bought 41,940 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 19% compared to the average volume of 35,301 call options.

Intuitive Machines Trading Up 8.3%

LUNR traded up $1.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.01. 18,793,644 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,927,770. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.60 and a beta of 1.83. Intuitive Machines has a 12-month low of $7.78 and a 12-month high of $46.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.38 and a 200 day moving average of $21.92.

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $206.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.33 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Intuitive Machines will post -0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LUNR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Intuitive Machines in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Roth Capital set a $30.00 target price on Intuitive Machines in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp upped their price target on Intuitive Machines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Intuitive Machines from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intuitive Machines currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intuitive Machines news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 11,495,514 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.84, for a total value of $147,602,399.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,495,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at $147,602,399.76. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kamal Seyed Ghaffarian sold 267,448 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.17, for a total transaction of $4,324,634.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,494,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,510,398.56. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,546,222 shares of company stock valued at $173,386,975. 54.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LUNR. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in Intuitive Machines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $374,000. Tema ETFs LLC grew its position in shares of Intuitive Machines by 139,768.2% during the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 3,105,074 shares of the company's stock worth $66,418,000 after buying an additional 3,102,854 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Intuitive Machines by 17.1% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 49,400 shares of the company's stock worth $1,057,000 after buying an additional 7,200 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake 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 worth $34,948,000 after buying an additional 1,231,188 shares during the period. Finally, JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd acquired a new stake in Intuitive Machines in the first quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 72.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Intuitive Machines

Here are the key news stories impacting Intuitive Machines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Heavy call-option activity suggests bullish near-term positioning: investors purchased 41,940 call options, approximately 19% above the typical daily volume. This may be contributing to heightened trading interest and volatility.
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted a record $1.8 billion backlog, including $920 million in second-quarter awards, expanding lunar and satellite programs, and a strategy to build recurring space-infrastructure revenue. National-security work now represents about 30% of revenue, while a commercial satellite contract worth more than $600 million adds diversification. LUNR Q2 Earnings Call Highlights Record Backlog and Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: The broader space-stock rally also lifted LUNR, with Intuitive Machines among the sector’s strongest performers during Friday trading. Intuitive Machines and Virgin Galactic Jump

About Intuitive Machines

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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