Intuitive Machines shares plunge 34% after second failed moon landing
Intuitive Machines’ shares fell 34% in premarket trading on Friday following the troubled landing of its second moon lander, Athena.
The spacecraft, designed with six legs, touched down approximately 100 miles (160 km) from the moon's south pole. However, CEO Steve Altemus confirmed that data indicated Athena had landed on its side, a development that complicates the functionality of its solar panels and disrupts power generation, reports Reuters.
This "off-nominal" positioning puts parts of the mission at risk, including the operational status of payloads, which influences some of the milestone payments from the company's $120 million contract with NASA. Despite the issue, Intuitive Machines has already received about 90% of this potential contract, according to Canaccord Genuity analyst Austin Moeller.
Stock Volatility and Market Reaction
The Houston-based company's shares closed down 20% on Thursday after having more than doubled over the past 12 months. Intuitive Machines, which went public two years ago, remains highly volatile, with 56% of its shares available for public trade.
Athena carried 11 payloads and scientific instruments, including a drill to search for water ice and other resources in lunar soil, as well as the first-ever data center and cellular network on the moon.
Context in Private Lunar Exploration
The setback for Intuitive Machines comes amid growing competition in private-sector lunar exploration. Austin-based Firefly Aerospace celebrated a successful landing of its Blue Ghost lander over the weekend, marking a milestone in commercial space exploration.
Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Starship mega rocket, the world’s largest, experienced its own failure on Thursday when it exploded minutes after launch, raining debris off the coast of Florida and the Bahamas.
Despite the sideways landing, analysts remain cautiously optimistic about Intuitive Machines' future prospects. "It may impact their credibility, but we still believe they’re well-positioned in the industry," said Andres Sheppard, senior analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald. "It’s not indicative of the company being in a dire situation."
As we wrote, Nvidia shares fell more than 8% to $123, bringing its market capitalization below $3 trillion, as investors were disappointed by the company’s gross margin forecast for Q1 2025.
Latest Stocks News
-
Afghanistan
-
Albania
-
Algeria
-
Angola
-
Argentina
-
Armenia
-
Australia
-
Austria
-
Azerbaijan
-
Bahamas
-
Bahrain
-
Bangladesh
-
Belarus
-
Belgium
-
Bolivia
-
Botswana
-
Brazil
-
Brunei
-
Bulgaria
-
Cambodia
-
Cameroon
-
Canada
-
Chile
-
China
-
Colombia
-
Congo
-
Costa Rica
-
Cote d'Ivoire
-
Croatia
-
Cuba
-
Cyprus
-
Czechia
-
DR Congo
-
Denmark
-
Dominican Republic
-
Ecuador
-
Egypt
-
El Salvador
-
Estonia
-
Eswatini
-
Ethiopia
-
Finland
-
France
-
Georgia
-
Germany
-
Ghana
-
Greece
-
Haiti
-
Hong Kong
-
Hungary
-
India
-
Indonesia
-
Iran, Islamic republic
-
Iraq
-
Ireland
-
Israel
-
Italy
-
Jamaica
-
Japan
-
Jordan
-
Kazakhstan
-
Kenya
-
Korea
-
Kuwait
-
Kyrgyzstan
-
Laos
-
Latvia
-
Lebanon
-
Lesotho
-
Libya
-
Lithuania
-
Luxembourg
-
Madagascar
-
Malaysia
-
Malta
-
Mauritius
-
Mexico
-
Moldova
-
Mongolia
-
Montenegro
-
Morocco
-
Mozambique
-
Myanmar
-
Namibia
-
Nepal
-
Netherlands
-
New Zealand
-
Nigeria
-
North Macedonia
-
Norway
-
Oman
-
Pakistan
-
Palestine
-
Panama
-
Papua New Guinea
-
Paraguay
-
Peru
-
Philippines
-
Poland
-
Portugal
-
Puerto Rico
-
Qatar
-
Reunion
-
Romania
-
Rwanda
-
Saudi Arabia
-
Serbia
-
Singapore
-
Slovakia
-
Slovenia
-
Somalia
-
South Africa
-
Spain
-
Sri Lanka
-
Sweden
-
Switzerland
-
Syria
-
Taiwan
-
Tajikistan
-
Tanzania
-
Thailand
-
Trinidad and Tobago
-
Tunisia
-
Turkey
-
UAE
-
Uganda
-
Ukraine
-
United Kingdom
-
United States
-
Uruguay
-
Uzbekistan
-
Venezuela
-
Vietnam
-
Yemen
-
Zambia
-
Zimbabwe
- Forex
- Crypto
