Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) Stock Price Up 15.5% – Should You Buy?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Intuitive Machines from $24.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Intuitive Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Intuitive Machines in a report on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Intuitive Machines in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Intuitive Machines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Intuitive Machines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.50.

Intuitive Machines Stock Performance

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

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $186.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.95 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Intuitive Machines, Inc. will post -0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kamal Seyed Ghaffarian sold 283,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.78, for a total value of $5,330,102.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,494,768 shares in the company, valued at $65,631,743.04. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Altemus sold 13,751 shares of Intuitive Machines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $27,446,506.95. This represents a 1.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 1,208,436 shares of company stock valued at $30,867,376 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 54.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LUNR. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intuitive Machines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Machines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intuitive Machines by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Machines by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Intuitive Machines by 34.2% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.