Shares of Intuitive Machines Inc. reversed course to trade lower in very active trading Wednesday, a day before the much-anticipated moon landing of the space-exploration companyâs commercial probe.
In the latest update on the mission, the company said Thursday that its probe, Odysseus, had completed its main-engine, lunar-orbit insertion burn and was currently in a 92-kilometer circular lunar orbit.
âOdysseus continues to be in excellent health,â the company said.
Prior to Wednesdayâs pullback, the stock
LUNR,
had rocketed 120.7% over the three trading sessions following the launch of the companyâs Nova-C lunar lander atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Thursday morning. The stock had closed Tuesday at the highest price since April 19, 2023.
Intuitive Machinesâ stock has pulled back a day before the scheduled moon landing of its Odysseus probe.
FactSet, MarketWatch
With the Nova-C scheduled to land at the moonâs south pole early on Feb. 22, the stock powered higher ahead of Wednesdayâs open. It was up as much as 27% in early premarket trading before paring gains to be up 17.3% just before the opening bell at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Donât miss: As U.S. commercial lander heads to lunar surface, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt says moon is important for âvast energy and materialsâ
Then the bottom fell out and the stock was down as much as 27.2%, at an intraday low of $8, before bouncing. It was down 8.8% in morning trading.
Intuitive Machinesâ stock took a nosedive after Wednesdayâs open.
FactSet, MarketWatch
Trading volume just after the first-hour mark of the regular session was 21.4 million shares, compared with the full-day average over the past 30 days of about 6.2 million shares.
The stock has been halted three times for volatility since the open.
The Nova-C is on track to become the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon since Apollo 17âs Challenger in December 1972.
While Intuitive Machinesâ stock has blasted 245.7% higher over the past three months, it was down 73.5% over the past 12 months.
