Buzz Stocks: Apple Inc., Plug Power Inc., and Raytheon

U.S. stocks are poised to drop this morning, as jitters set in ahead of the Fed's policy-setting meeting, which will kick off shortly. In company news, today's stocks to watch include iPad parent Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), fuel cell developer Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG), and military defense firm Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTN).

• According to The Wall Street Journal, AAPL could launch an online TV service this fall. The so-called "skinny bundle" would feature roughly 25 of the most popular channels, and cost $30-$40 per month. Separately, a jury for a U.S. federal court yesterday said AAPL did not infringe on wireless technology patents, as originally accused by Luxembourg-based Core Wireless in 2012. Shifting our attention to the charts, Apple Inc. has had a stellar year, jumping 66% over the last 12 months to perch at $124.95. More recently, the stock has bested the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by 14.4 percentage points over the previous 40 sessions. Accordingly, the brokerage bunch is firmly in AAPL's corner, with 28 of 30 analysts doling out "buy" or better ratings, compared to six "holds" and not a single "sell." Meanwhile, AAPL is set to take its place on the Dow Jones Industrial Average after tomorrow's close.


• PLUG is set to gap 6.5% lower out of the gate, after posting a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss. Company sales also came in well below estimates. On the charts, Plug Power Inc has struggled over the long term, sliding nearly 58% year-over-year to settle yesterday at $2.75. Not surprisingly, short sellers have taken notice of the underperformer. Nearly 19% of PLUG's float is sold short, which represents over six sessions' worth of trading, at typical daily volumes.


• Finally, RTN is reportedly in talks to purchase cybersecurity issue Websense Inc., which is currently owned by private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners LLC. The deal could be worth upwards of $1 billion, potentially setting up Vista for a healthy profit -- the company bought Websense for $890 million about two years ago. Turning to technicals, Raytheon Company has had a ho-hum 2015 -- sitting slightly above breakeven at $109.60, only after popping nearly 3% yesterday. Traders have taken a decidedly bearish path toward the shares, according to data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). RTN's 50-day put/call volume ratio across this trio of exchanges is 0.81, which ranks in the 95th percentile of its annual range.