Raytheon Technologies Corp (NYSE:RTX) is slightly higher this morning, last seen up 0.6% to trade at $86.70, following news that it won a $2 billion U.S. Air Force contract to develop and manufacture a nuclear-armed cruise missile, replacing the aging air missile that was fielded in the early 1980s. Completion is expected by February 2027, with manufacturing taking place in Tucson, Arizona. 

RTX crested toward the $90 level early last month, hitting an annual high just below the level on Jun. 10. The 60-day moving average contained most of its subsequent pullback, though the 20-day moving average still looms as potential pressure on the charts. Year-to-date, Raytheon stock is up 20.6%. 

Analysts are mostly optimistic on RTX. The 12-month consensus price target of $98.18 is a 13.9% premium to current levels, and represents a region not yet touched by RTX. Plus, of the 12 covering the security, nine consider it a "strong buy" rating. 

Short-term options traders have been a bit  more put-biased than usual. This is per RTX's Schaeffer's put/call  open interest ratio (SOIR) of  0.66, which stands higher than 88% of readings from the past 12 months. 

Independence Day in the United States falls on Sunday this year. What this means for traders is that the U.S. stock market will be closed on Monday, July 5, in observation of the holiday. The markets will reopen for a four-day trading week on Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. ET. Happy 4th of July!

Today's trading session will feature May's nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate, average hourly earnings, trade deficit, and factory orders. 

There are no companies slated to release earnings today, July 2, ahead of the Independence Day holiday weekend.

Looking ahead to next week, there are no notable earnings reports coming up during the first full week of July. Economic data is fairly muted as well, after Monday's Independence Day holiday. Nonetheless, investors will be keeping an eye on updates from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in the middle of the week, as well as a fresh jobless claims data. All economic dates listed here are tentative and subject to change.

Schaeffer's Investment Research turns 40 this month! Celebrate with us with new weekly special offers throughout the month of July. Did you know that, when Bernie Schaeffer founded our company back in '81, equity options volume was only 432,000 contracts per day? Compare that to the 2021 daily average options volume of 39,000,000 options contracts changing hands on a daily basis! We really have been with options traders since the jump. MIC DROP.

** Schaeffer's Event Trader portfolio has doubled in value (+109.72%, to be exact) over the past six months by simply putting 10% of its portfolio into each simple put or call purchase recommended in the program! Compare that to the SPX that has only returned 11.93% over the same timeframe. To kick off the celebration for our 40th anniversary this month, Bernie is letting you take Event Trader out for a spin this month for just $4 by clicking here before July 4th! **

Despite pointing up in premarket trading, near the bottom of the Dow this morning sits Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ: WBA), down 7.1% to trade at $48.71 at last check. This comes even though the blue chip drugstore chain raised its outlook for the year in response to an upbeat fiscal third-quarter earnings report. Walgreens announced adjusted earnings of $1.51 per share -- well above analysts' estimates of $1.17 -- to pair with a revenue beat, which was aided by a rebound in prescriptions volumes.

In addition to the corporate report, the company announced it administered 17 million Covid-19 vaccinations in the third quarter, and projects 28 million vaccinations in 2021, with around 7 million to come in the fourth quarter.

Walgreens stock has struggled on the charts of late, tumbling from its April 6 annual high of $57.05. WBA finished the quarter with a 4.2% deficit, but is still up 32% year-to-date. Despite the modest gains in 2021, analysts are bearish on the equity. Of the 12 in coverage, 10 rate WBA a tepid "hold" or worse.

An unwinding of optimism in the options pits could put pressure on the equity. WBA's Schaeffer's put/call volume ratio (SOIR) of 0.57 stands in the low 16th percentile of its 12-month range, meaning short-term options traders have rarely been more call-biased. 

Last week, Subscribers to Schaeffer's Weekend Player service just scored a 201% profit in just under a month with China-based Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ:LI) September 17, 2021 23-strike call. Below, we're going to take a look back at why we were bullish on the electric vehicle stock, and how LI performed after we suggested the call option. 

When we entered the position on Tuesday, June 1, the automaker had the prior Wednesday just reported positive cash flow in its earnings report, as well as a revenue beat. What resulted was an impressive bull gap, prompted by a bevy of short sellers that, in founder and CEO Bernie Schaeffer's own words, had "grown complacent as LI took a 66% haircut from their Nov. 2020 peak near $48 to their May 2021 low just below $16."

The stock held those gains for the rest of that week, and there were reasons for continued upside beyond the short squeeze. LI's 14-day relative strength index (RSI) stayed below overbought levels in the 70s and well below the 84 level that accompanied the November highs. Plus, the 80-day moving average was reclaimed, a trendline that back in February had triggered the channel of lower lows. 

Lastly, short-term LI options were fairly priced, with implied volatility (IV) for options below 99% of such readings in the last year.

At the time of our recommendation, Li Auto stock closed at $23.81. It proceeded to carve out a channel of higher highs, trading at $33.90 by Monday, June 28. This breakout allowed our subscribers to lock in a 201% profit on the LI call, in a little under a month after our initial recommendation.

The major benchmarks are celebrating a winning first half of 2021. However, despite all the optimism, it is always good idea to keep an eye on stocks that have a tendency to underperform at this point in the year. For your convenience, we have compiled a list of the worst stocks to own during the month of July, with General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) standing out amongst them. Below, we will dive into how the stock has performed recently, and why now could be the perfect opportunity to buy puts.

According to Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, General Electric stock averaged a July loss of 2.4% over the past 10 years, and has finished the month positive only twice. The security is the only general industrials name to appear on the list, and is also the number one stock to avoid.

From its current perch of $13.47, a similar move lower would put GE back below the 60-day moving average, a trendline that pressure the equity lower during pullbacks in May and June. Still, its worth noting that the security had added 114.7% over the past nine months. Plus, the last time we checked on GE, it had been named a "top idea" at Goldman Sachs.

Options traders have been betting on a move higher, though an unwinding of this optimism could ultimately put additional pressures on the shares. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), General Electric stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 7.07 ranks in the elevated 87th percentile of its annual range. In other words, calls are being picked  up at a faster-than-usual clip. 

Now seems to be a prime time to weigh in on GE's next move with options, as the equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 30% sits in the 8th percentile of the past 12 months. This means option traders are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.

With the first half of the year in the rearview, and another quarter come and gone, many on Wall street are wondering about the future of Big Tech. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq (IXIC) has been trading inches from an all-time peak, many large-cap sector stalwarts, including Apple (AAPL) and Amazon.com (AMZN), saw lackluster returns at best in H1, as a rotation out of "growth stocks" occurred.

One member of the FAANG space that bucked this big-cap mystery, however, is Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL). The shares have tacked on almost 40% in 2021, and just strung together its longest quarterly win streak on record, marking their fifth-straight win with an 18.4% return. 

Seasonality suggests there could be even more upside for the FAANG stock, too, per data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. The stock just landed on White's list of the best performing stocks on the S&P 500 in July, going back 10 years. In fact, the security has seen positive monthly returns during this time period nine out of ten times, boasting a 9% pop on average -- the best monthly return on the list by a long shot. Today, the equity is off 0.4% at $2,433.01, but  a move of similar magnitude would put it at $2,651.98 by the end of the month -- a fresh record for the tech name.  

Alphabet stock really isn't too far from exploring uncharted territory, though some consolidation has been happening near the $2,460 level since mid-June, which is just south of the equity's all-time high of $2,461.91. There's plenty of technical support in place, too, including the 20-day moving average, which looks to be containing most of today's pullback. 

For those wanting to speculate on GOOGL's strong seasonality without the hefty price tag, options might be the way to go. The security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 18% stands higher than only 4% of readings from the past 12 months, suggesting options traders have rarely priced in lower volatility expectations during the past 12 months. Plus, its Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) ranks at 76 out of a possible 100. This means Alphabet stock tends to outperform these volatility expectations -- a boon for buyers.