(Bloomberg) -- Intuitive Machines Inc. shares are surging after the space exploration firm said it won another NASA contract. This one could be worth as much as $4.8 billion.
The stock of the the first private company to land a spacecraft intact on the moon soared as much as 66% Wednesday, the biggest intraday jump in 18 months. The price of Intuitive Machines’ shares have more than tripled since the start of the year after the Houston-based firm was awarded a series of NASA accords.
The latest contract is for communication and navigation services for missions in the near-space region, from the Earth’s surface to beyond the Moon. In August, the company won a NASA contract to deliver science and technology payloads, and was one of three companies to receive a contract to develop vehicles that astronauts may drive on the lunar surface in April.
The recent win is “a significant catalyst and validation towards LUNR’s outlook and the company’s ability to continue to win contracts,” Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard wrote in a note dated Tuesday, referring to the company by its ticker symbol.
“More importantly, LUNR was the only awardee of this contract,” Sheppard added, noting the expectation was that the contract would be awarded to multiple companies.
The first set of task orders for the contract will be about $150 million — the deal has a base period of five years with an added five-year option period for a total maximum potential value of $4.8 billion. As part of the contract, Intuitive Machines will introduce lunar satellite data and transmission services — which the company sees as a key for its goal to commercialize lunar activities.
The near space network pact “provides significant backlog and long-term financial stability, something many space peers lack,” Josh Sullivan, an analyst at Benchmark wrote Wednesday. Intuitive Machines’ “path to becoming the preeminent lunar infrastructure player took a big step forward.”
Intuitive Machines stock has been whipsawed this year and — despite the recent surge — remains more than 20% below a February peak following its moon landing.
Wall Street is overwhelmingly bullish on shares of Intuitive Machines with all five analysts tracked by Bloomberg rating the company the equivalent of a buy. The average 12-month price target of $9.80 implies more the stock could climb roughly another 18% from where shares currently trade.
“This contract marks an inflection point in Intuitive Machines’ leadership in space communications and navigation,” Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus said in a statement Tuesday.
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