Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) Stock Price Up 15.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) rose 15.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $30.91 and last traded at $30.64. Approximately 21,639,367 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 60% from the average daily volume of 13,555,391 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Intuitive Machines to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Intuitive Machines from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Intuitive Machines from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Intuitive Machines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.50.

Intuitive Machines Trading Up 15.5%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $29.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.05. The company has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.82 and a beta of 1.68.

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $186.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.95 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Intuitive Machines, Inc. will post -0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intuitive Machines

In other news, CFO Peter Mcgrath sold 24,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.61, for a total value of $579,719.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 401,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,473,418.06. The trade was a 5.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director William John Liquori, Jr. sold 18,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.87, for a total transaction of $547,248.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 68,875 shares in the company, valued at $2,057,296.25. This trade represents a 21.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,208,436 shares of company stock valued at $30,867,376. 54.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intuitive Machines

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LUNR. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Intuitive Machines by 627.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,048,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,026,000 after purchasing an additional 904,065 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,090,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,067,000 after buying an additional 717,256 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Intuitive Machines in the 4th quarter valued at about $717,000. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Intuitive Machines by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,073,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,810,000 after buying an additional 914,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Intuitive Machines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,696,000. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.