Intuitive Machines (LUNR) is plunging for a second straight day, tumbling 17% today. The company's lander likely has fallen over on the moon. If it has done so, this would be the second straight year that one of LUNR's vessels has failed to stay upright following a lunar landing, as its Odysseus lander suffered that fate in 2024.

But investment bank Canaccord defended the shares on weakness.

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Additional Information About LUNR's Spacecraft

Although it's not certain that Athena, the company's lander, has fallen over, LUNR CEO Steve Atemus said “We don’t believe we’re in the correct attitude on the surface of the Moon yet again,”

Athena is communicating with personnel on the ground, but Altermus reported that the vessel's power and communications are not performing at optimal levels. As a result, Athena will not be able to accomplish all of its missions, he reported.

Canaccord Is Defending LUNR Stock

The investment bank noted that Athena's four radios are all working properly, and the vessel can still meet the mission's main objectives if its equipment works, Canaccord reported. Moreover, the company has already received about 90% of the funds that it's owed by NASA for the mission, while it has contracts with the agency for two more voyages,  according to Canaccord.

The investment cut its price target on LUNR to $22 but contended that the stock's decline is excessive and kept a Buy rating on the shares.

While we acknowledge the potential of LUNR, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LUNR but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.