If You're Over the Moon About Intuitive Machines Stock, Take a Look at This Out-of-this-World Choice Instead

As investors recognize the significant investment opportunities presented by the burgeoning space economy, Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) stock has garnered increasing interest from growth investors.

And even though the number of public companies operating in space is limited, I have another space stock opportunity in my sights.

Image source: Getty Images.

Intuitive Machines may have skyrocketed recently, but I'm not interested

Designing and building lunar landers for NASA, Intuitive Machines, which is also focused on other space endeavors beyond the moon, distinguished itself in February 2024 when its Odysseus Nova-C class lunar lander touched down on the moon -- a feat that the United States last accomplished over 50 years ago with the Apollo 17 mission.

Over the past month, shares of Intuitive Machines have soared more than 70% -- largely due to KeyBanc initiating coverage on the stock with a bullish outlook.

Despite the firm's optimistic view, there's another space stock that's higher on my buy list.

I'd like to swing among the stars with this stock instead

Holding its initial public offering (IPO) this past August, Firefly Aerospace (NASDAQ: FLY) is a space stock that may be less familiar to investors who don't closely follow the space industry. Like Intuitive Machines, Firefly is committed to operations involving the moon. According to its most recent 10-Q, for example, Firefly expects its "Blue Ghost lander to fly annual missions to the Moon."

This is hardly a pipe dream. In the third quarter of 2025, Firefly received a $176.7 million award from NASA for a Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract to provide five NASA-backed payloads to the moon's south pole in 2029, building on the company's previous successes in conducting lunar operations.

It's not merely the company's dedication to the moon that has piqued my interest, though. Firefly is diversifying more heavily into the defense industry, opening up a new source of revenue. In October, Firefly announced (and has since closed) the $855 million acquisition of SciTec, a defense technologies company specializing in space domain awareness and missile defense systems.

More recently, in November, Firefly announced a partnership with defense industry stalwart Kratos Defense & Security Solutions regarding the development of hypersonic capabilities.

Is lighting up your portfolio with Firefly stock a smart move now?

There's no denying that Intuitive Machines has logged some successes as it pursues business opportunities in the final frontier. And like Firefly, it also has ties to the defense industry. At this point, though, Firefly seems more advanced in both its lunar and defense ambitions. Couple this with the fact that since early August when it debuted on public markets, Firefly stock has plunged more than 42%. For these reasons, I'm strongly considering a position in Firefly stock.

Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Kratos Defense & Security Solutions. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.