Nearly 60% increase in Intuitive Machines' stock price following NASA moon satellite contract.

• Intuitive Machines' stock rose nearly 60% on Wednesday.
• NASA awarded the lunar-focused company a major contract to build moon data satellites.
• The five-year contract has a maximum total value of $4.82 billion.

NASA awarded a major contract to a lunar-focused company, causing its stock to jump in early trading Wednesday.

Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus stated that this contract signifies a turning point in the company's dominance in space communications and navigation.

NASA has selected Intuitive Machines as the sole recipient of a contract to construct "lunar relay systems" for its Near Space Network, which facilitates communication with government and commercial missions that are up to 1 million miles from Earth. Under the contract, Intuitive Machines will develop and deploy a constellation of lunar satellites to provide communication and navigation services, particularly for NASA's Artemis program.

The five-year contract, with a maximum value of $4.82 billion, will issue incremental awards as work progresses. Intuitive Machines' initial NSN award is valued at $150 million.

Nearly 60% surge in early trading occurred in Intuitive Machines shares, which closed at $5.40 per share.

Andres Sheppard, a Cantor Fitzgerald analyst with a buy-equivalent rating and a $10 price target on the stock, considers the NSN contract to be beneficial for the company.

LUNR's ability to win contracts is validated by the significant catalyst we see today, as stated by Sheppard in a note to clients.

NASA contracts have been steadily increasing, resulting in a more than doubled stock price for Intuitive Machines year-to-date.

In February, Intuitive Machines made history as the first U.S. company to soft-land a cargo mission on the moon's surface. Since then, the company has been awarded three contracts under NASA's $4.6 billion crew lunar rover contract and also received a $117 million award for its fourth cargo delivery mission.

NASA views Intuitive Machines' experience as elite, according to Benchmark's Josh Sullivan, who has a buy rating and a $10 price target.

"NSN helped LUNR become the leading lunar infrastructure player," Sullivan wrote.

The company is set to launch its next lunar mission, IM-2, in the first quarter, while analysts anticipate the launch of its first NSN lunar satellite on the IM-3 mission, scheduled for late 2025.