LUNR News & Events

Welcome to this week's installment of "The Short Interest Report" - The Fly's weekly recap of short interest trends among some of the most widely followed high-short-float stocks. Using the data from our partner, which utilizes the latest information from stock lenders to estimate short interest changes for thousands of publicly traded companies, this report will screen for some of biggest changes in short interest as a percentage of free float and days-to-cover ratios while also considering the short interest data on some of the more volatile and heavier-traded names of the week. Based on the availability of data from Ortex, the report tracks the trading period that covers prior Friday through Thursday of this week, excluding holidays. As a basis of comparison for stocks discussed below, the S&P 500 index was down 2.0%, the Nasdaq Composite was down 3.1%, the Russell 2000 index was flat, the Russell 2000 Growth ETFwas down 1.3%, and the Russell 2000 Value ETFwas up 1.4% in the five-day trading session range through March 26.SHORT INTEREST GAINERSAirport disruptions with long lines at TSA counters due to the partial U.S. government shutdown have diverted travelers to the car-rental counters, and the price action in Avis Budget Groupsure reflects this surge in demand. After five strong sessions, shares of Avis are up 39% in the five-day period covered through Thursday and up 9.3% year-to-date. Bears, however, are betting that the run-up mean-reverts, with short interest on the stock spiking from last week's four-month low around 55%. Specifically, Ortex data is seeing short positioning as a percentage of free float on Avis Budget up from 55.5 to 67.7% - a record high. Days-to-cover on the name was also higher, though at a more modest margin to reflect a surge in trading volume on Thursday, rising from 11.6 to 12.7.Ortex-reported short interest on Sweetgreenhad fallen to a seven-month low of 21.5% just last week, though this week has seen a spike in bearish positioning. Deteriorating consumer sentiment in an environment of rising energy prices and uncertain labor market is weighing on fast-casual dining overall, though the healthy options with a premium cost are getting chopped more than their peers. Short interest as a percentage of free float on Sweetgreen was up from 21.8% to 25.2% - a one-month high. Meanwhile, the stock was down over 7% in the five-day period covered through Thursday and down another 6% amid a broader market selloff on Friday.Ortex-reported short interest on RHhas been tracking consistently higher for a period of about a month, though this week, the rise in bearish bets was especially pronounced – short positioning as a percentage of free float jumped four percentage points to 31.3% by Thursday, with intra-week high of 32% also registering a record high. The stock, meanwhile, is down 45% from its January high, though much of that decline occurred over the first half of March, and this week, shares of RH were down just 1.8%. The company reports its FY25 results through a period ended January 31 this coming Tuesday.SHORT INTEREST DECLINERSOrtex data shows short positioning in Aeva Technologiespulling back from its multi-month highs above 40% just four weeks ago, even though the stock's upside momentum since its trough over the first week of February has finally broken down. Short interest as a percentage of free float on Aeva fell another eight percentage points this week to about 28%, a four-month low, with days-to-cover on the name slipping from 3.7 to 3.3 – also the lowest level since late November. The stock, meanwhile, sold off by 6.6% in the five-day period covered through Thursday and fell another 10% on Friday, even though shares are still up about 13% from February's lows.Ortex-reported short interest on Intuitive Machinessaw its highest levels around 34% in the final week of February, though with the stock still up 25% this month against a sizeable decline in the broader market, bears are moving on to more obvious opportunities. This week, shorts as a percentage of free float on Intuitive Machines fell from about 34% to as low as 23% - a two-month low. The stock was up 1.7% in the five-day period covered through Thursday and also remains higher by over 10% on the year, though shares are down over 6% late on Friday.

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly.CEASEFIRE:Citing a report on Israel's Channel 12, Bloomberg's Marissa Newman and Sebastian Tong write that U.S. officials are looking for a one-month ceasefire with Iran to negotiate its nuclear program and help end the war. Among the goals of the 15-point plan are for Iran to dismantle it's a nuclear program, commit to never developing nuclear weapons, ending support for militias, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the report states. Bloomberg's reporting further states that in exchange, Iran would receive U.S. assistance in developing its civilian nuclear program.Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan officials are looking to bring U.S. and Iranian officials to negotiating table in the next 48 hours, though the positions of both sides remain far apart, The Wall Street Journal.E15 WAIVER:The White House is getting ready to expand the opportunity of higher-ethanol E15 gasoline this summer by waiving the fuel from U.S. volatility requirements, Bloomberg's Jennifer Dlouhy and Elizabeth Elkin report, citing people familiar with the matter. The EPA is slated to brief industry stakeholders on the planned approach on Wednesday, the authors note. Publicly traded companies in the ethanol space include Ecopetrol, Alto Ingredients, Rex American, and Green Plains.GOLDEN DOME SOFTWARE:Anduril Industries and Palantirare members of a group developing software to run U.S. President Donald Trump's planned Golden Dome antimissile shield, the Wall Street Journal's Drew FitzGerald, citing people familiar with the matter. The companies belong to a consortium of defense and tech firms, which also includes Lockheed Martin, RTX, and Northrop Grumman, that seeks to have the Golden Dome software ready for testing in summer 2026, FitzGerald says.LICENSE:After discovering a large smuggling scheme, U.S. lawmakers have demanded the commerce department to suspend Nvidia'slicense to export AI chips to China and south-east Asian countries, Demetri Sevastopulo of The Financial Times. Republican Senator Jim Banks and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren urged "immediate action" related to the "diversion of advanced American AI chips to China." In the letter, the senators wrote, "We urge all necessary and appropriate actions, including the immediate pausing, suspension, or other reconsideration of all active export licenses covering advanced Nvidia AI chips and server systems destined for... China as well as for intermediaries in south-east Asia, including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore."GATEWAY ON PAUSE:As part of its "Ignition" event on Tuesday, NASA announced a series of transformative agencywide initiatives designed to achieve President Donald J. Trump's National Space Policy and advance American leadership in space. "These actions reflect the urgency of the moment, but also the tremendous opportunity ahead for world-changing science and discovery," NASA said. "NASA is committed to achieving the near-impossible once again, to return to the Moon before the end of President Trump's term, build a Moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space. This is why it is essential we leave an event like Ignition with complete alignment on the national imperative that is our collective mission. The clock is running in this great-power competition, and success or failure will be measured in months, not years," said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. "If we concentrate NASA's extraordinary resources on the objectives of the National Space Policy, clear away needless obstacles that impede progress, and unleash the workforce and industrial might of our nation and partners, then returning to the Moon and building a base will seem pale in comparison to what we will be capable of accomplishing in the years ahead." Looking beyond Artemis V, NASA announced March 24 it will begin to incorporate more commercially procured and reusable hardware to undertake frequent and affordable crewed missions to the lunar surface, initially targeting landings every six months, with the potential to increase cadence as capabilities mature. To achieve an enduring human presence on the Moon, NASA also announced a phased approach to building a lunar base. As part of this strategy, the agency intends to pause Gateway in its current form and shift focus to infrastructure that enables sustained surface operations. Despite challenges with some existing hardware, the agency will repurpose applicable equipment and leverage international partner commitments to support these objectives. Publicly traded companies in the space include Intuitive Machines, Voyager Technologies, Rocket Lab, and AST SpaceMobile.INDUSTRY ADVISORY BOARD:Lightbridgeannounced that it has been selected to serve on the Industry Advisory Board of a $6M nuclear materials research project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy University Program. The project, awarded to The Pennsylvania State University under DOE's University Nuclear Research Infrastructure Revitalization program, will advance the study of nuclear materials critical to the development and safety assessment of next-generation reactors. Lightbridge joins X-Energy, Westinghouse Electric Company, and Kairos Power on the advisory board.PRECISION STRIKE MISSILES:In a decisive move to guarantee American overmatch against any adversary, Lockheed Martinand the Department of War announced a framework agreement to accelerate the production of Precision Strike Missiles. The agreement builds on a previous $4.94B contract award from the U.S. Army last year and together, these actions will quadruple PrSM production capacity. This initiative directly supports the national imperative to build a more lethal, resilient and ready fighting force, backed by a stronger, advanced industrial base. The agreement includes the ability to negotiate a multi-year contract up to seven years, should Congress grant multi-year authority, contingent upon future congressional authorization.SUPPLIER FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT:Honeywellannounced it has signed a supplier framework agreement with the U.S. Department of War to rapidly increase the production of critical defense technologies. This agreement includes a $500M multi-year investment to upgrade the company's production capacity. Under this agreement, Honeywell Aerospace will ramp production of the following: Navigation systems: Honeywell is a global leader in resilient navigation technology, particularly in challenging environments. The company's wide range of inertial navigators can be found in diverse industries across the aerospace, defense and industrial markets. Honeywell Aerospace navigation systems are critical enablers on most precision munition platforms globally. Assure actuators: Honeywell Assure missile maneuverability actuation and electronic control systems are the most precise and speed-responsive systems available. These actuators are used for interceptor, tactical and other strategic high-performance missiles. Electronic Warfare solutions: Electronic Warfare solutions from Honeywell Aerospace provide critical functionality on U.S. military platforms from fighter jets to the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program and on AMRAAM missiles. Advanced technologies also support Signals Intelligence and Electronic Intelligence domains.

Intuitive Machines is up 16.2%, or $2.90 to $20.82.