LUNR stock is still a buy, Roth says

The Odysseus Moon Lander is currently lying tipped over on its side on the moon, but the parent company of the U.S. spacecraft is still a buy.

So says Roth MKM analyst Suji Desilva, who in a research update to clients February 23, maintained his “Buy” rating and price target of $15.00 on Intuitive Machines (Intuitive Machines Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials NASDAQ:LUNR).

The analyst gave his opinion on the development, which he thinks was a success, overall.

“In a press conference, LUNR executives indicated the Odyssey lunar lander safely soft landed on the moon’s surface, but in the process tipped on its side,” he noted. “However, we are encouraged that the lander seems largely operational for power and comms with most of the research payloads still functional. We were fully cognizant of the risk of issues that could manifest, but nonetheless believe that learnings that LUNR can leverage nonetheless represent sustained competitive advantage for future missions.”

The analyst thinks LUNR will post EPS of $0.01 on revenue of $66.7-million in fiscal 2023. He expects the company will post EPS of negative $0.37 on a topline of $245.0-million in fiscal 2024.

“LUNR Odyssey lunar lander executed a first-ever autonomous soft-landing landing very near its intended site and largely successfully except for tipping over during final landing after initially landing upright, with some antennas pointing to the surface,” Desilva added. “Nonetheless, we believe the Odyssey lander appears to be largely operational with solar panels arrays still functioning with line of sight to the sun. LUNR had established communications with the lander shortly after. LUNR management indicated that its Houston operations control was able to adjust during the entire trip to the Moon but noted the landing and ruggedness of the surface leaves little room for adjustments. We believe the team was tasked with executing a harder lateral landing versus “straight down” as the former is deemed safer. The long-term goal of NASA is repeated access to the Moon’s surface and this mission featuring an autonomous, vertical landing is turning into a very significant step in that direction in our view.”