HOUSTON, May 9, 2026, 09:06 CDT
Intuitive Machines closed out Friday up 20.2% at $28.97, not far from its session peak, after a surge in both trading and options activity sent the Nasdaq-listed lunar infrastructure stock higher. U.S. markets shut down for the weekend by Saturday morning; Friday’s finish was the last posted price.
Intuitive Machines will deliver its first-quarter earnings before the bell on May 14, followed by an 8:30 a.m. ET conference call. This release could show whether the market’s bet on the company as something bigger than just a moon-lander shop holds up.
Options traders weren’t shying away from the uncertainty. According to TheFly via StockAnalysis, Intuitive Machines saw 16,864 call options change hands—roughly double the norm. Calls, which generally benefit from rising share prices, were active as implied volatility pointed to sharper-than-usual price moves.
Space stocks tracked higher as a group, not just on single-company headlines. Rocket Lab jumped 34.2% Friday after posting record quarterly sales of $200.3 million and touting a $2.2 billion backlog. Planet Labs picked up 10.8%. The moves fed into a broader trade: investors piling into the sector’s public names.
Valuation’s a bit of a mixed bag here. KeyBanc’s Michael Leshock bumped his Intuitive Machines target up to $27 from $26. Roth Capital’s Suji Desilva went even higher, taking his up to $35 from $25. After Friday’s close, the stock ended up splitting the difference—trading above one of those targets, but still under the other.
Intuitive Machines is pitching itself to investors as more than a lunar lander shop. The company claims it designs and builds spacecraft, links up space-based networks, and manages infrastructure for commercial, civil, and national-security clients. According to Intuitive, it’s already put over 300 spacecraft together and landed more than 260 kilograms of payload on the Moon.
The pitch intensified following January’s $800 million acquisition of Lanteris Space Systems, previously known as Maxar Space Systems. Chief Executive Steve Altemus described the purchase as a “defining moment,” arguing it brought large-scale, flight-proven manufacturing to a company with lunar experience already under its belt. Intuitive Machines
March data laid out the challenge ahead. Intuitive Machines posted $44.8 million in fourth-quarter revenue, with a net loss that hit $59.7 million. Still, the company’s guidance pointed to a massive jump—2026 revenue is pegged between $900 million and $1 billion, with an expectation for positive adjusted EBITDA. That’s a profit figure that leaves out interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and a few other expenses.
Altemus called 2025 a “transformational year” back in March, pointing to a second lunar flight, the entry into national-security space, and deals with KinetX and Lanteris. Now, investors are watching to see whether these big plans start to move the needle on first-quarter revenue, margins, and backlog conversion. Intuitive Machines
NASA still features prominently here. Back in March, the agency handed Intuitive Machines a $180.4 million Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract—CLPS is NASA’s initiative that funds private moon deliveries of science and tech payloads—for an IM-5 mission. This time, the company will use its larger Nova-D lander.
Altemus pointed to the award as evidence of the company’s lunar infrastructure offering “scalability and flexibility” for additional Artemis missions—NASA’s push to send astronauts back to the moon and set up sustained operations on the lunar surface. The upcoming mission targets Mons Malapert, a ridge close to the lunar south pole known for reliable Earth line-of-sight and consistent lighting, both key for communications and supporting infrastructure. Intuitive Machines
The risk factors haven’t gone anywhere. Intuitive Machines flags potential setbacks: delays, failed launches, missed lander milestones, swings in government funding, integration hiccups from deals, plus depending on a narrow group of suppliers or launch partners. All of it stacks up, especially after shares jumped 20% ahead of earnings.
The market already made its move. Next up: the company speaks on May 14.
