Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) Trading Up 7% – Here’s Why

Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR)’s share price was up 7% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $20.65 and last traded at $20.34. 7,060,801 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 12,893,334 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUNR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $30.00 price target on Intuitive Machines in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Intuitive Machines in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Intuitive Machines from $43.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on Intuitive Machines from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Intuitive Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $32.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.06.

Intuitive Machines Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.90. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.33 and a beta of 1.83.

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.32 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Intuitive Machines, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kamal Seyed Ghaffarian sold 267,448 shares of the firm’s 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 owned 3,494,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,510,398.56. This trade represents a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 Intuitive Machines stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,404,313 shares of company stock valued at $168,526,592. Corporate insiders own 54.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuitive Machines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Intuitive Machines in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,984,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Intuitive Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $717,000. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new stake in shares of Intuitive Machines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,314,000. Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania acquired a new position in shares of Intuitive Machines in the 4th quarter valued at $52,689,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Intuitive Machines by 202.1% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 461,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $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 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.