Intuitive Machines Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:LUNR)

Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 41,940 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 19% compared to the typical daily volume of 35,301 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuitive Machines

In other news, major shareholder International L.P. Advent sold 11,495,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 11,495,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,602,399.76. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William John Liquori, Jr. sold 18,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.87, for a total value of $547,248.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 68,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,057,296.25. This trade represents a 21.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,546,222 shares of company stock valued at $173,386,975. Company insiders own 54.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in Intuitive Machines in the second quarter worth $374,000. Tema ETFs LLC raised its holdings in shares of Intuitive Machines by 139,768.2% during the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 3,105,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,418,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102,854 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 17.1% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 49,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Intuitive Machines by 188.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,882,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd bought a new stake in Intuitive Machines in the 1st quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

Intuitive Machines Trading Up 8.3%

Intuitive Machines stock traded up $1.45 on Friday, hitting $19.01. 18,860,764 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,978,033. Intuitive Machines has a 1 year low of $7.78 and a 1 year high of $46.75. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.01 and a beta of 1.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.90.

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $206.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.32 million. As a group, analysts predict that Intuitive Machines will post -0.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Intuitive Machines

Here are the key news stories impacting Intuitive Machines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intuitive Machines reported a record $1.8 billion backlog, including approximately $920 million in second-quarter awards. The backlog spans lunar, satellite, defense and commercial space programs, supporting expectations for future revenue and a shift toward recurring space-infrastructure revenue. LUNR Q2 Earnings Call Highlights Record Backlog and Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel upgraded LUNR to Buy from Hold, arguing that the backlog and long-term growth opportunity are more important than the quarterly miss. B. Riley maintained a Buy rating, while Cantor Fitzgerald retained an Overweight rating. Intuitive Machines stock jumps 8% as Wall Street backs $1.8B backlog
• Positive Sentiment: Call-option activity was elevated, with traders purchasing 41,940 calls—about 19% above average daily volume—suggesting increased speculative bullish interest in the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts lowered their price targets despite maintaining constructive ratings: Stifel cut its target to $26 from $32, Cantor to $32 from $43 and B. Riley to $43 from $45. The revisions reflect near-term execution concerns but still imply substantial potential upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter results missed expectations. Revenue rose fourfold year over year to approximately $206.2 million, but fell short of estimates near $216 million, while EPS of negative $0.29 missed the consensus loss estimate of negative $0.09. A $14.7 million charge contributed to the shortfall. Intuitive Machines Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Negative Sentiment: Director Kamal Seyed Ghaffarian sold 267,448 shares worth approximately $4.3 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although the sale was scheduled, insider selling can weigh on sentiment.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LUNR. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Intuitive Machines from $24.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Intuitive Machines in a research report on Friday, July 17th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Intuitive Machines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Intuitive Machines from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Intuitive Machines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.31.

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.