OK, intuition, why are you encouraging me to write about this stock, LUNR, on this day, August 23, 2024? I produced a video about it over a year ago. (March 2023 –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzVaEu7mty0) I bought stock in it. (June 2024) Pardon me as I have an unintentional Duh moment as I realize my intuition was inspiring me to write about Intuitive Machines, a name that has no apparent connection to their products, but there it is. The universe has a sense of humor. The fact that the stock was up over 29% this week is probably more inspirational. So, what’s going on, and how does it affect my personal finances?

Small companies can have strange stock moves. They can languish for years until someone thinks they’re worth much more or much less than the current market, and a small surge in the stock can become a bigger surge in the stock. I suspect that analysts can’t devote enough time to remain aware of every aspect of every small company. One may do an analysis, and others move because the first one did. Companies like LUNR have finance spikes and shortfalls. Starbucks started by selling lots of cups of coffee, something that happened every few seconds. LUNR is dealing with rockets, satellites, and rovers, the sorts of things that rely on singular events like rocket launches and vehicle landings. Their products can literally go boom or bust, but hopefully go whoosh and land quietly.

None of that happened this week. There’s news of a collaboration. The recent finance report looked fine enough. Eventually, there’ll be another launch and such. And the stock went up as much as it did.

It went up to about $6 and closed at $5.24. It started the week at about $4, so that was good, but keep in mind that when I produced that video, the stock was at over $13, down from their all-time peak (so far) of over $40. Hello, volatility. I bought it for about $5, so this has been a lot of up and down for not much movement, and that’s OK.

You might notice that, while I track these smaller companies and their stocks I do not get deep into the details. I am Not a finance professional. They get to do that sort of thing. I’ve also learned that whether analyst or amateur, someone somewhere out there knows more than me, and may know more than everyone else. Small companies can have surprising successes that are kept officially quiet, but an investor who lives near the company may notice a busy parking lot on a Sunday, or a lot of rental or government cars, or big deliveries. Some discussion boards (particularly about MVIS) are populated by people who trawl (not troll) through LinkedIn updates and job ads to see what positions are new and who is celebrating their new job. I’ve found that when I get into that much detail I’ve usually missed a more important detail right beside it. I watch the big picture, spend less time, and have about as much success.

LUNR (lunar, get it?) is potentially rewarding enough that I invested some of my house sale money into it, but it is risky enough that I didn’t max out on the possibilities. I may miss out on the possible upside, but rockets do go boom and bust in seconds.

Most of my other stocks are in similar situations, even though they’re in different industries. Diversification! As a portfolio, it means that something is usually happening. Life ain’t dull.
Life may not be dull, but such swings are normal. I celebrate the gains and recognize the losses, but the real progress is a successful launch and landing; or in biotechs, an FDA approval; or in any of them, a significant customer. LUNR has done enough to gather some attention, but I think few folks barely look past SpaceX, Boeing, Lockheed, or ESA to see the recent independents who are innovating rocket science and space missions. 

Up 29% in a week with no headline news? Imagine what their week will be like when they land on the moon and don’t fall over. What was that peak price? If things go well, the stock can rocket past it, too.