Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
Allergan, Pfizer — The two drug companies will combine in a deal valued at about $160 billion. Allergan shareholders will receive 11.3 shares in the newly combined company for each share they now hold, valuing Allergan at $363.63 per share.
Mallinckrodt — The drug maker earned an adjusted $1.84 per share for its latest quarter, 8 cents above estimates, with revenue also well above forecasts. The company, whose stock was recently battered by a report from short seller Citron Research, was helped by a significant increase in its specialty drugs segment.
Tyson Foods — The food producer missed estimates by 5 cents with adjusted quarterly profit of 83 cents per share, though revenue was above forecasts. Tyson said it was upbeat about its performance, given less than optimum market conditions and the integration process following its acquisition of Hillshire Brands.
Peabody Energy — The energy producer’s shares are getting a boost this morning after it announced a deal Friday to sell coal assets in Mexico and Colorado to Bowie Resource Partners for $358 million in cash.
Viacom — The media company’s stock was cut to “hold” from “buy” at Deutsche Bank, pointing to a weaker growth outlook for Viacom compared to its peers.
Constellation Brands — The spirits maker was upgraded to “outperform” from “market perform” at Cowen, which said it sees further market share gains propelling the stock higher despite its strong run-up during this year.
General Electric – GE struck a deal to sell its $5.8 billion U.K. lending business to a consortium led by Blackstone. Separately, Credit Suisse removed GE stock from its “Focus List” following GE’s recent run-up, but increased its price target on the stock to $34 per share from $31.
Match Group — Axiom Capital initiated coverage on the dating website operator with a “buy” rating, saying the company is the undisputed leader in the category with 4.7 million paying subscribers.
Ford, General Motors — Both automakers got positive labor news, with United Auto Workers union leaders ratifying a four-year contract with GM. That move coming several weeks after workers approved the deal. Separately, Ford workers narrowly approved a four-year labor contract.
Facebook — Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said he would take a two-month paternity leave after wife Priscilla Chan gives birth.
Wal-Mart — The retail giant is launching all its Cyber Monday deals a day early — on the Sunday after Thanksgiving rather than Monday as in prior years.
Procter & Gamble — The consumer products giant should be broken up to improve its performance, according to an article in this weekend’sBarron’s. The article projects that P&G’s businesses could be worth $90 per share if broken up, compared to Friday’s close of $75.82.
Lions Gate Entertainment — The movie studio’s latest “Hunger Games” movie did top the weekend box office in its debut, but the $101 million in ticket sales fell short of estimates and was the lowest opening total of the four films in the series.
Diebold — Diebold struck a deal to buy Germany’s Wincor Nixdorf for $1.8 billion in cash and stock. The automated teller machine maker will officially launch a tender offer for its German rival early in 2016.
Electrolux — The Swedish appliance maker denied reports that it is in settlement discussions with the Justice Department over its deal to buy the appliance business of GE. Electrolux is in the midst of an antitrust trial aimed at letting it proceed with its proposed $3.3 billion transaction.
PepsiCo — PepsiCo was upgraded to “neutral” from “reduce” at Nomura, reflecting prospects for better beverage-related revenue growth in the United States.
[“source -searchengineland”]
