The company’s IM-1 mission lander shortly after its launch on February 15, 2024.
Intuitive machines
Intuitive machinesStocks jumped in early trading Wednesday after NASA awarded the moon-focused company a major contract to build lunar data satellites.
“This contract marks an inflection point in Intuitive Machines’ leadership in space communications and navigation,” Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines, said in a statement.
NASA said the company was the sole contractor to build “lunar relay systems” for the agency’s Near Space Network, a system that communicates with government and commercial missions 1 million miles from Earth. The contract calls for Intuitive Machines to build and deploy a constellation of lunar satellites to provide communications and navigation services, including for NASA’s Artemis program.
The five-year contract, worth up to $4.82 billion, provides for progressive awards as work progresses. Intuitive Machines’ first NSN award is for $150 million.
Shares of Intuitive Machines jumped nearly 60% in early trading from their previous close of $5.40 a share.
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard, whose firm has a buy rating and a $10 price target on the stock, called the NSN deal a bargain for the company.
“We view today’s win as an important catalyst and validation of LUNR’s prospects and the company’s ability to continue winning contracts,” Sheppard wrote in a note to clients.
The stock has more than doubled since the start of the year as Intuitive Machines has steadily racked up NASA contracts.
In February, Intuitive Machines made history by becoming the first U.S. company to soft-land a cargo mission on the surface of the Moon. Since then, IM has become one of three companies to win contracts under NASA’s $4.6 billion contract for the crewed lunar rover and also added its fourth cargo delivery contract with a $117 million award last month.
Benchmark’s Josh Sullivan, who also has a buy rating and a $10 price target, said he thinks the latest price shows NASA views Intuitive Machines’ experiment “as elite.”
“LUNR’s path to becoming the preeminent player in lunar infrastructure has taken a major step forward with NSN,” Sullivan wrote.
The company is preparing to launch its next cargo mission to the Moon, IM-2, in the first quarter. Analysts expect the company’s first lunar satellite, NSN, to be launched on the IM-3 mission, scheduled for late 2025.
