Why Intuitive Machines Stock Is Plummeting Today

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) stock is getting hit with big sell-offs in Thursday's trading. The company's share price was down 12.2% at 3:30 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index had fallen 1.3% and the Nasdaq Composite index was off 2.3%.

Investors are selling out of growth stocks today following Nvidia's recent fourth-quarter report, and Intuitive Machines stock has been an outsize participant in the pullback. The company's share price is likely also being pushed lower by a "buy the rumor, sell the news" dynamic after the launch of its latest lunar mission.

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Intuitive Machines stock sinks on sell-off following Nvidia earnings

Nvidia published its fourth-quarter results after the market closed yesterday, and expectations were high. The artificial intelligence (AI) hardware leader posted sales of $39.33 billion and earnings per share of $0.89, topping the average Wall Street analyst estimate's call for per-share earnings of $0.84 on sales of $38.05 billion. The company also guided for sales of approximately $43 billion in the current quarter, beating the consensus estimate's call for sales of $41.78 billion.

But despite beating expectations on key fronts, Nvidia stock is moving lower today -- and it's dragging Intuitive Machines and other growth stocks down with it. The AI giant has become one of the most influential companies on the stock market, but its Q4 report apparently wasn't explosive enough to spur an immediate surge of bullish sentiment.

Intuitive Machines' latest lunar mission has commenced

Intuitive Machines announced today that the launch of its lunar lander had taken place and that its technologies were en route to the moon. The Athena lander is being transported by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and will be delivering data center and telecommunications technologies to the moon. While this is good news for the company, investors are selling out of the stock now that a positive near-term catalyst is in the rearview mirror.

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Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.