Intuitive Machines Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:LUNR)

Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 39,245 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 33% compared to the typical daily volume of 29,606 call options.

Intuitive Machines Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LUNR opened at $19.23 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.26. Intuitive Machines has a one year low of $6.14 and a one year high of $23.32. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of -25.99 and a beta of 1.40.

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $44.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $53.37 million. Equities research analysts predict that Intuitive Machines will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Intuitive Machines

In other Intuitive Machines news, CFO Peter Mcgrath sold 25,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.44, for a total transaction of $445,435.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 425,800 shares in the company, valued at $7,425,952. The trade was a 5.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Altemus sold 428,503 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.06, for a total value of $8,595,770.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,026,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,589,624.12. This represents a 29.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,489,913 shares of company stock worth $28,023,750. Insiders own 39.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Machines

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Intuitive Machines by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 63,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Intuitive Machines in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,612,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Intuitive Machines by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 63,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 4,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 151.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 54,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 32,730 shares in the last quarter. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUNR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Intuitive Machines from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Intuitive Machines from $22.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Intuitive Machines from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.94.

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.