Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) Stock Price Down 2.5% After Analyst Downgrade

Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR)’s share price was down 2.5% during trading on Monday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The stock traded as low as $12.73 and last traded at $12.86. Approximately 5,501,066 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 11,890,452 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.19.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Intuitive Machines from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Intuitive Machines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $32.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Roth Capital set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Intuitive Machines in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a report on Friday, July 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 11,495,514 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.84, for a total transaction of $147,602,399.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,495,514 shares in the company, valued at $147,602,399.76. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kamal Ghaffarian sold 267,448 shares of Intuitive Machines stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.17, for a total transaction of $4,324,634.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,494,768 shares in the company, valued at $56,510,398.56. This represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,201,528 shares of company stock worth $158,629,235. Corporate insiders own 54.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuitive Machines

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LUNR. Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Intuitive Machines in the 1st quarter valued at $2,984,000. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Machines in the 1st quarter worth $4,314,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Intuitive Machines in the 2nd quarter worth $3,565,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Intuitive Machines by 202.1% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 461,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,567,000 after acquiring an additional 308,755 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuitive Machines during the 1st quarter worth $35,895,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

Intuitive Machines Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $15.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.09. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.60 and a beta of 1.86.

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $206.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.32 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Intuitive Machines, Inc. will post -0.60 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Intuitive Machines

Intuitive Machines, Inc is a space exploration and infrastructure company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company develops and operates lunar landers, spacecraft, and related systems designed to deliver payloads to the Moon and support communications, navigation, and other lunar operations.

Its primary product platform is the Nova-C lunar lander, which is designed to transport scientific instruments, technology demonstrations, and commercial payloads to the lunar surface. Intuitive Machines also provides lunar data transmission and satellite communications services, autonomous navigation systems, precision landing technologies, and other products intended to support a broader lunar economy.

Founded in 2013 by Steve Altemus, who serves as president and chief executive officer, Intuitive Machines became a publicly traded company in 2024.