Intuitive Machines stock jumps in wild trading after moon landing

Shares of Intuitive Machines jumped in trading Friday after the company's successful first moon landing.

Intuitive Machines' Nova-C cargo moon lander known as "Odysseus" on Thursday became the first privately developed spacecraft to land on the lunar surface — as well as the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on the moon in more than 50 years.

The company, based in Houston, Texas, confirmed that the IM-1 mission lander was standing upright and sending data back to Earth.

"Odysseus has found his new home," Tim Crain, Intuitive Machines' CTO and IM-1 mission director, said Thursday evening from the company's mission control.

Intuitive Machines stock initially ripped 40% higher from its previous close of $8.28 a share before paring gains with heavy trading volume. The company has a market valuation of about $1 billion.

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The company's stock has been rallying over the past month as excitement built in the lead-up to and progress of the IM-1 mission. Intuitive Machines went public via a SPAC a year ago and shares had steadily slid to all-time lows near $2 in January.

Wall Street analysts emphasized to CNBC ahead of the landing that the unprecedented nature of the event could lead to volatile momentum trading.

"We've never witnessed a publicly traded company go through [a moon landing attempt]. So this is new, not just for investors, but for us analysts as well," Cantor Fitzgerald's Andres Sheppard said before the landing.

"Odysseus is alive and well. Flight controllers are communicating and commanding the vehicle to download science data," the company said in a statement Friday morning.

Intuitive Machines also noted that the lander is charging its solar