Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.09, but opened at $34.35. Intuitive Machines shares last traded at $33.2880, with a volume of 3,245,219 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LUNR shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Intuitive Machines from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Intuitive Machines from $22.50 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Intuitive Machines from $16.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.55.

Intuitive Machines Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a PE ratio of -49.03 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.38.

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $44.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $53.37 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Intuitive Machines, Inc. will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Altemus sold 13,751 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.61, for a total value of $324,661.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,162,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,446,506.95. This represents a 1.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Timothy Price Crain II sold 8,447 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.61, for a total value of $199,433.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 351,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,293,697.19. This represents a 2.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 993,100 shares of company stock valued at $21,312,171 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 54.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Machines

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Intuitive Machines by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,090,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,067,000 after acquiring an additional 717,256 shares in the last quarter. Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania purchased a new stake in Intuitive Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $52,689,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Intuitive Machines by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,095,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,238,000 after acquiring an additional 557,517 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Intuitive Machines by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,735,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,399,000 after acquiring an additional 61,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Intuitive Machines by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,677,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,165,000 after acquiring an additional 415,359 shares in the last quarter. 72.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.