Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $34.86, but opened at $38.02. Intuitive Machines shares last traded at $38.1530, with a volume of 9,098,297 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on LUNR shares. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Intuitive Machines from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Intuitive Machines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on Intuitive Machines to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Intuitive Machines in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Intuitive Machines Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.44 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.02.

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Intuitive Machines, Inc. will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuitive Machines

In other Intuitive Machines news, Director Kamal Seyed Ghaffarian sold 141,909 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.25, for a total value of $4,860,383.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,494,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,695,804. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Timothy Price Crain II sold 8,447 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 351,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,293,697.19. The trade was a 2.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 1,048,206 shares of company stock valued at $24,782,839 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 54.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Intuitive Machines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 34.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 10,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 11,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 63.2% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

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.