Latest news with #LUNR
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mission Launches Fuel Rocket Lab's Rally: Should You Buy the Stock Now?
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. RKLB has recently launched several successful missions, which involve deploying satellites to Earth orbit using its Electron space vehicle. Evidently, at the onset of June 2025, RKLB launched its 65th Electron rocket to deploy Earth-imaging satellites for real-time space-based intelligence company, BlackSky. In May, Rocket Lab launched the third mission for its Japanese customer, Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS). In March, the company deployed eight satellites for Germany-based global wildfire and detection company OroraTech. These missions, apart from showcasing Rocket Lab's increased launch cadence, also demonstrate the company's efficiency in conducting frequent, reliable and dedicated small orbital launches for satellite operators with 100% mission success. Such back-to-back launch missions must have been boosting investors' confidence in RKLB lately, as evident from its three-month price performance. Rocket Lab's shares have surged an impressive 66.2% in the past three months, outperforming the Zacks aerospace-defense industry's gain of 18%. It has also outpaced the broader Zacks Aerospace sector's rise of 21.8% as well as the S&P 500's gain of 7.5% in the same time frame. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research A similar stellar performance has been delivered by other defense stocks involved in the space industry, such as Lockheed Martin LMT and Intuitive Machines LUNR, over the past three months. Shares of LUNR surged 82%, while those of LMT rose 2.6%. According to a World Economic Forum report from April 2024, the space economy is projected to grow from $630 billion in 2023 to $1.8 trillion by 2035, driven by the increasing adoption of satellite and rocket-enabled technologies. This outlook strengthens the long-run growth prospects of stocks like RKLB, LUNR and LMT. Notably, Lockheed engages in the research, design and production of satellites and space transportation systems, while Intuitive Machines is a space exploration company involved in supplying space products and services to support sustained robotic and human exploration to the Moon, Mars and beyond. On the other hand, RKLB's Electron launch vehicle ranks as the second most frequently launched orbital rocket by U.S. companies. Looking ahead, the company is expected to continue its strong prowess in the space industry, with RKLB aiming to launch more than 20 Electron rockets in 2025. This, in turn, should bode well for Rocket Lab's operational results in the coming quarters. Let's take a sneak peek at its near-term estimates to check if that reflects a similar story. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RKLB's 2025 and 2026 sales suggests an improvement of 32.8% and 47.7%, respectively, year over year. A look at its 2025 and 2026 earnings estimates suggests a similar year-over-year improvement. However, its second-quarter 2025 earnings estimates suggest a year-over-year decline. The upward revision of its 2025 and 2026 estimates over the past 60 days indicates investors' increasing confidence in the stock's earnings generation capabilities. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research While Rocket Lab holds strong long-term growth potential, it faces several pressing challenges. One of the primary concerns is its high operating expenses, driven by continued investment in next-generation technologies such as the Neutron launch vehicle, spacecraft capabilities and a broader portfolio of components. These expenses often offset revenue gains, leading to losses, as evident from its recent quarterly reports. Another major risk is Rocket Lab's elevated debt levels, which currently surpass those of many industry peers (as illustrated by the long-term debt-to-capital ratio in the image below). The company invests aggressively in the design, manufacturing and commercialization of new space technologies. However, if product development timelines slip, the associated debt burden could significantly strain future financial performance. This risk is underscored by Rocket Lab's recent delay in its first Neutron rocket launch, from an initial 2024 target to mid-2025 at the earliest. Delays like this highlight execution risks that could further pressure the company's balance sheet. RKLB's Long-term Debt-to-Capital Image Source: Zacks Investment Research In terms of valuation, RKLB's forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) is 19.18X, a premium to its peer group's average of 4.50X. This suggests that investors will be paying a higher price than the company's expected sales growth compared to that of its industry. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Other space stocks, such as LUNR and LMT, are trading at a discount to RKLB in terms of their forward P/S ratio. LUNR and LMT have a forward sales multiple of 6.51X and 1.49X, respectively. To conclude, investors interested in Rocket Lab should wait for a better entry point, considering its premium valuation and high leverage. The stock holds a VGM score of F, which is also not a very favorable parameter for investing in a stock. However, those who already own this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock may continue to do so, considering its impressive performance at the bourses, upward revision in annual earnings estimates and year-over-year sales growth predicted by its near-term estimates. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Rocket Lab Corporation (RKLB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Intuitive Machines, Inc. (LUNR) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Was Jim Cramer Right About Intuitive Machines Inc. (LUNR)?
We recently published a list of In this article, we are going to take a look at where Intuitive Machines Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. A caller asked about Intuitive Machines Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR), especially after its highly publicized moon landing back then. Cramer wasn't impressed at the time: 'I'm not there on that. I've got too many stocks I like that are doing really terrific things. I mean, it had a one-day wonder — had a big spike — and I feel like I missed the spike. I don't want to come in on top of that spike. Not for me.' A satellite being released from a launch vehicle, heading into space. Cramer underestimated this one badly with Intuitive Machines soaring 128.63%. Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) plays a critical role in NASA's Artemis missions, providing lunar landing systems and space infrastructure technologies. Overall, LUNR ranks 4th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. While we acknowledge the potential of LUNR as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LUNR and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Should You Buy Intuitive Machines While It's Below $12?
Intuitive Machines stock missed earnings. Its stock went up anyway. The space company has landed spacecraft on the moon twice now, neither time 100% successfully. It's preparing for a third attempt next year, and promises to "incorporate ... lessons learned" from the last wobbly landing. 10 stocks we like better than Intuitive Machines › Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) stock is on a roll. Despite missing earnings in its Q1 earnings report earlier this month, shares of the first American company to land a spacecraft on the moon in more than 50 years remain a fan favorite among space investors and are up 20% since the report. And why? Well, let's review. Intuitive Machines is not yet earning profits. On the contrary, the company lost $0.11 per share in Q1 (although this was down from $2.68 per share lost in Q1 last year). Sales were $62.5 million, down 15% year over year, but are expected to bounce back 10% in Q2. More encouragingly, the company generated positive free cash flow in Q1 -- $13.3 million -- the first time this had happened in more than two years. Analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence do expect the company to burn cash for the next three quarters ($15 million in total), so Intuitive Machines might still end up FCF-negative for the year. But the difference is basically a rounding error, and it's also possible the company might be able to report positive FCF. Basically, it's a toss-up, and if Intuitive Machines does manage to report positive full-year free cash flow three years before most analysts were expecting this to happen, it could be a big catalyst to move the stock higher. So, that's the short-term picture. Now, let's take a look at the long term. Intuitive Machines is fast becoming NASA's go-to contractor for delivering at least small caches of scientific equipment to the moon. The space agency has awarded Intuitive four separate "IM" missions to the moon, of which two are now complete, and two more are scheduled to take place in 2026 and 2027, respectively. Unqualified successes so far have been hard to come by, with Intuitive landing its first two IM landers safely, only to see the spacecrafts topple over on their sides when landing. The good news here is that management recognizes the problem and has promised to "incorporate IM-2 lessons learned" in building its IM-3 lander for next year's mission so that it can, with any luck, land upright next time around. The other good news is that NASA seems sufficiently satisfied with the landings -- despite their shortcomings -- and that it has promised to pay Intuitive "success payments" for the IM-2 mission this coming quarter. The other, other good news is that landing payloads on the moon is only one of the projects NASA has hired Intuitive Machines to perform. The other project, dubbed the Near Space Network, is a $4.8 billion contract to build a satellite communications relay to send messages back and forth to the moon. The company is receiving milestone payments for this work already (which may have helped it to turn FCF-positive last quarter). The contract is currently scheduled to run for 10 years, which should secure a strong revenue stream for Intuitive Machines stretching out over a decade of work -- roughly $480 million in revenue per year. Now, here's some less-good news: Investors bid up Intuitive Machines stock sharply after earnings this month. At $11 and change, the stock currently costs nearly twice what I paid for it (after the second not-quite-100%-successful landing). Probably, a lot of the easy money on this stock has already been made, and further gains will be harder to come by. That's not to say "impossible," however. At $11 and change, Intuitive Machines' stock is still down roughly 50% from its all-time high set in January. There's no guarantee the stock will sell that high again, but it might, especially if Intuitive succeeds in modifying its landers so that the "Weebles wobble, but don't fall down" on the next landing. And farther out, the vast majority of the funds covered by the NSN contract remain to be earned. The more progress Intuitive makes in building its communications network, the more likely the stock is to rise even higher. For now, with shares priced at 4.1 times trailing sales, Intuitive Machines stock sits at the high end of what I've determined to be "fair value for an unprofitable space stock" -- anywhere from a price-to-sales ratio of 2 to 4 times. It's not an obvious bargain, but yes, I think even at these levels, it's still cheap enough to be worth a buy, so long as you buy small and limit your risk. Before you buy stock in Intuitive Machines, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Intuitive Machines wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $640,662!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $814,127!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 963% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 168% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Rich Smith has positions in Intuitive Machines. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Should You Buy Intuitive Machines While It's Below $12? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
18-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
One of the Best Space Stocks Just Reported a Big Change, and Its Stock Popped 35% in 1 Day
Every so often, you're right about a stock, and it makes you nervous about how long you can keep on being right. That's kind of how I feel looking at Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) stock right now. Back at the start of the month, if you recall, I said Intuitive Machines stock was a buy and could pop after earnings. And after Intuitive reported earnings this week, the stock did indeed go up. In fact, it went up a lot, surging nearly 35% at one point on the day after earnings, and still up nearly 28% as I type these words. And now I'm honestly not sure this stock is still a buy. Intuitive Machines Q1 "earnings" Intuitive Machines' Q1 earnings report didn't feature a lot in the way of "earnings," necessarily, and it only reported $62.5 million in revenue. According to the good folks at The Fly, however, that was less than the $66.1 million in revenue that Wall Street analysts were predicting. It was also a 15% decline from the company's $73.2 million in Q1 2024 revenue. Operating costs of $72.6 million ate up all the company's revenue and left Intuitive with a $10.1 million operating loss for Q1. On the bottom line, losses were $11.4 million, or $0.11 per share, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. That's the bad news. Now, here's the good: Intuitive Machines just announced a big change in its cash situation. Intuitive Machines generated positive operating cash flow for the first time in nearly two years in Q1 -- $19.4 million, and reported quarterly positive free cash flow of $13.3 million. The company is still FCF-negative for the past 12 months, and most analysts don't expect to see the company generating FCF consistently for another few years -- but Q1 improved its TTM performance considerably, and Intuitive now has at least a chance of reporting its first full year of positive FCF in 2025. So you're saying there's a chance? Yes, a small chance. Most analysts still see Intuitive burning cash this year, but less than $2 million. But Intuitive is due to receive "IM-2 success payments" in Q2, which could potentially push the company over the finish line. Management is forecasting between $250 million and $300 million in total revenue this year, right in line with analyst forecasts. In other "IM-" news, the company confirmed that its next moon landing, IM-3, is on track to take place in the first half of next year, "and will incorporate IM-2 lessons learned" -- which hopefully means Intuitive has figured out how to keep its landers from toppling over after landing on the moon. Intuitive is also making progress on its much bigger, much more valuable, $4.8 billion contract to build a Near Space Network for satellite communication between the Earth and moon, completing two "milestones" and receiving funding for two more. Is there still time to buy Intuitive Machines stock? With Intuitive Machines stock up so much (again, about 28% over just the past few days), and up so quickly after earnings, I'm a bit less enthusiastic about buying more shares (I already own a few) now that the good news is out. True, the chance that Intuitive might report positive full-year free cash flow in 2025 -- a full three years earlier than Wall Street was expecting -- could be another great catalyst to lift the stock. That said, the main project I'm counting on to drive the company's success is the $4.8 billion NSN NASA contract. That one stretches over 10 years, and appears to be rolling out only slowly, with only $9 million in revenue booked in Q1, and only $18 million more coming in Q2. It's a big-dollar contract, with a long timeline. These two factors combined create a risk that a budget-constrained NASA might be forced to cancel the contract at some point in the future, dramatically limiting growth prospects for Intuitive Machines -- and potentially crashing the stock as well. While I don't think that will happen, it's a risk, and it's one investors in Intuitive Machines stock should keep in mind. The best way to limit that risk is to buy Intuitive Machines stock on a pullback, when it looks cheap again. Should you invest $1,000 in Intuitive Machines right now? Before you buy stock in Intuitive Machines, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intuitive Machines wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $642,582!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $829,879!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is975% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to172%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 12, 2025
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Intuitive Machines, Inc. (LUNR) Skyrocketed On Tuesday
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) stands against other firms that are crushing the market. The stock market finished the trading day on a mixed note, as investors continued to digest April inflation figures, which came out lower than expected. On Tuesday, the Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index for April rose by only 0.2 percent last month, bringing the annual inflation rate to 2.3 percent, its lowest annual rate since February 2021. Among Wall Street's main indices, only the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq registered gains, by 0.72 percent and 1.61 percent, respectively. The Dow Jones, on the other hand, was down by 0.64 percent. Beyond the major indices, 10 companies finished the session with strong gains amid a flurry of positive developments, including ratings upgrades and impressive corporate earnings, among others. In this article, we name Tuesday's 10 top performers and detail the reasons behind their rally. To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with a $2-billion market capitalization and $5-million trading volume. A satellite being released from a launch vehicle, heading into space. Intuitive Machines soared by 22.42 percent on Tuesday to end at $11.63 each after an impressive earnings performance in the first quarter of the year. In a statement, Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) said it narrowed its net loss attributable to shareholders by 88 percent to $11.5 million from the $97.9 million registered in the same period last year. Revenues, on the other hand, declined by 14.6 percent to $62.5 million from $73.2 million year-on-year. Looking ahead, Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) said it is targeting between $250 million and $300 million in revenues for the full year 2025. 'The evolving federal landscape, including shifting NASA priorities, presents a clear opportunity for Intuitive Machines. We're leveraging our track record to expand into adjacent markets like National Security Space and other non-lunar domains,' said Intuitive Machines, Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) CEO Steve Altemus. 'This diversification builds on our core strengths and positions us as a broader infrastructure and data services provider across the space economy,' he added. Overall, LUNR ranks 4th on our list of firms that are crushing the market. While we acknowledge the potential of LUNR as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LUNR but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
