Why I Got Into LUNR at $11 and Why It’s Been Taking Off

A little over a year ago, I took a position in Intuitive Machines (LUNR) at about $11 per share. At the time I saw something most investors didn’t fully appreciate yet: the possibility that this company could play a central role in the emerging space economy. It wasn’t cheap promise. It was a calculated bet on future infrastructure, real contracts, and a market that is just beginning to form.

Fast forward to today and LUNR is up near $22. That is roughly a 100% gain from where I started, a level of performance most mainstream investors would be happy to see in a full year in almost any sector.

So what’s been driving this move lately?

NASA and the Artemis Program

One of the clearest recent catalysts came when the company shared that they were selected from dozens of global volunteers to help track NASA’s Artemis II mission around the Moon. The collaboration itself does not include a major cash payment, but it does cement Intuitive Machines’ role in a high-visibility part of the space economy. NASA involvement attracts attention and validation from both retail and institutional investors, and that showed up directly in LUNR’s stock move.

Analysts Turning More Positive

On the same day the tracking role story came out, financial analysts reiterated and even raised their price targets on LUNR, pushing some forecasts up to $26 per share. Those upgraded targets signal growing confidence among money managers and research desks that this company’s future cash flows and contracts are worth more than the market had priced just weeks ago.

Momentum From Broader Space Sector Optimism

Beyond any single announcement, investors are starting to price in the idea that government and commercial spending on lunar and cislunar infrastructure may pick up. Deals, acquisitions, and high-profile project wins over the past several months helped build a narrative that Intuitive Machines is more than a one-and-done lunar lander company. Instead, it is moving toward being a vertically integrated space contractor with multiple revenue streams.

All of this has helped the stock move sharply higher in recent weeks and months, with swings of double-digit percentages becoming more common as sentiment shifts.

Why I Still Like LUNR

I stuck with my position as the stock climbed through the teens into the low twenties because the fundamental story hasn’t changed. The Moon is not just a scientific objective anymore. It is a zone of exploration and potential commerce, with space traffic, data infrastructure, navigation services, and surface support all becoming real markets. Intuitive Machines is not alone in this domain, but it is one of the few publicly traded players with proven tech and ongoing contracts.

Getting in at $11 has allowed me to benefit from the upside as sentiment improved. I view the recent run as a validation that others are starting to see what I saw months ago while also reminding me that volatility remains high and this remains a long-horizon type of investment.

If future missions go well and new contracts continue to roll in, this still feels like a story with room left to run.