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Intuitive Machines (Intuitive Machines (LUNR)) is having a great Wednesday. Shares jumped nearly 13% to hit a new 52-week high, and the reason is a one-two punch of good news: a shiny new government contract and the promise of earnings tomorrow.
The broader market is also in the green — the Nasdaq is up 0.52% and the S&P 500 has gained 0.20% — but LUNR's move is all its own.
The big catalyst is a new contract from the U.S. Space Force under the Andromeda IDIQ program. Intuitive Machines will now compete to design next-generation Space Domain Awareness (SDA) capabilities — basically, keeping an eye on stuff in geosynchronous orbit to make sure the U.S. maintains space superiority through 2030.
"Our focus is to provide innovative and dependable SDA mission solutions for the U.S. Space Force," the company said on X Wednesday.
This award is particularly notable because it's the first major selection since Intuitive Machines acquired Lanteris Space. Management has been talking up the benefits of that merger, and this contract suggests it's paying off.
The stock is also getting a boost from anticipation of first-quarter earnings, due out Thursday. Analysts are expecting a loss of $0.06 per share on revenue of $204.63 million.
But here's the thing: Intuitive Machines has missed EPS estimates for six straight quarters. So while the revenue number looks solid, investors are understandably cautious. A beat would be a big deal; another miss could deflate some of the enthusiasm.
Short interest has been ticking down — from 31.28 million shares to 28.01 million — but 21.44% of the float is still short. With average daily volume of 12.51 million shares, it would take short sellers about 2.24 days to cover their positions.
That's not a crazy squeeze level, but it's enough to add some spice to the price action. If earnings surprise to the upside, the shorts could get squeezed harder.
On the charts, LUNR is looking bullish. The stock is trading well above its key moving averages: the 20-day SMA at $26.89 and the 200-day SMA at $15.27. The 20-day is above the 50-day (bullish), and the golden cross from November 2025 is still in play, reinforcing the longer-term uptrend.
Over the past 12 months, LUNR is up 214%. That's a lot, but the momentum is clearly with it.
Key levels to watch: resistance at $36.56 (which it's currently testing) and support at $26.89 (the 20-day SMA).
At publication time, LUNR was trading at $36.24, up 12.93% on the day and at a new 52-week high.
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