The company's Nova-C lander, dubbed Athena, had trouble landing on the moon
Space exploration stock Intuitive Machines Inc (NASDAQ:LUNR) is extending its selloff in a big way today. The shares were last seen down 23% at $8.66, after Athena, the company's Nova-C lander, ran into trouble landing on the moon yesterday. Though it landed in the correct vicinity, recent images show it positioned on its side, which could deeply affect the trip duration and success. This comes just over a year after Intuitive's first lunar lander toppled over during its landing.
Extending last session's 20.2% drop, LUNR is down 51.6% since the start of the year, though still holding on to a 70.8% year-over-year lead. Should these losses hold, the stock will close below its 320-day moving average for the first time since August, already below all other more short-term trendlines.
Intuitive Machines stock is on the short sell restricted (SSR) list amid the volatility. Options traders are chiming in, however, with 67,000 calls and 26,000 puts exchanged so far, which is eight times the overall options volume typically seen at this point. The March 12 call is the most popular, followed by the weekly 3/7 10-strike call, with new positions opening at the latter.
Canaccord Genuity cut LUNR's price target to $22 from $26 after the event, though it's still a hefty premium to current levels. In fact, most of the analysts in coverage lean bullish, with five of the seven carrying a "buy" rating, one a tepid "hold," and one a "sell" while the 12-month consensus price target of $18 sits at an over 100% premium to current levels.