Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Hasbro – The toymaker reported adjusted quarterly profit of 10 cents per share, compared to a consensus forecast of 33 cents a share. Revenue was also well below forecasts, with Hasbro citing the liquidation of Toys ‘R’ Us as a significant negative event for its results.
Henry Schein – The provider of products and services to health-care offices will spin off its animal health business and merge it with that of Vets First Choice, a provider of services to veterinary practices. The new combination will be an independent publicly traded company called Vets First Corp.
Kimberly-Clark – The consumer products company beat estimates by 2 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.71 per share. Revenue beat forecasts, as well. Kimberly said its results were hurt by commodity price inflation but it is pleased with an increase in organic growth.
McDermott International – The oilfield services company rejected a $7 per share takeover bid from Norwegian peer Subsea 7, according to a statement from Subsea 7 this morning. McDermott has a deal in place to merge with Chicago Bridge & Iron.
Wynn Resorts – The casino operator’s largest shareholder, Elaine Wynn, urged shareholders to vote against the re-election of director John Hagenbuch. She said the vote would be a referendum on legacy directors at Wynn, following the allegations of sexual harassment that led to the resignation of her ex-husband Steve Wynn as CEO.
Lululemon – The yoga wear maker’s stock was downgraded to “hold” from “buy” at Needham, based on a strong run-up for the stock and a diminishing chance of an earnings beat.
Verizon – Barclays upgraded Verizon to “overweight” from “equal weight,” saying its current value doesn’t reflect the potential to grow service revenue and other important metrics.
Vectren – Vectren will be bought by rival utility CenterPoint Energy for $72 per share in cash, or a total of about $6 billion.
Humana – The health insurer is partnering with a private-equity consortium to buy privately held hospice facility operator Curo Health Services for $1.4 billion. Humana will have a 40 percent interest in Curo.
Alaska Air – The airline reported adjusted quarterly profit of 14 cents per share, 2 cents above estimates, while revenue matched forecasts.
General Motors – GM’s South Korean unit reached a tentative wage agreement with its labor union, in a move that will likely avoid bankruptcy. GM Korea’s board has now canceled a vote on filing for bankruptcy protection that had been scheduled for today.
Akorn – German drugmaker Fresenius pulled out its $4.75 billion deal to buy the U.S. generic drugmaker, saying it had found “material breaches” of Food and Drug Administration data integrity requirements at Akorn. Akorn said it disagreed with the accusations and planned to hold Fresenius to its obligations under the takeover agreement.
WPP – WPP’s longtime client Ford Motor said it would bid out some of the advertising currently managed by WPP. The move follows the departure of longtime CEO Martin Sorrell last week, although Ford had been reviewing its overall ad strategy since last November.
Apple – Apple is offering battery replacements for some of its MacBook Pro computers after component failures caused some of the built-in batteries to expand. However, Apple said the flaw does not impact the product’s safety.
Under Armour – Under Armour was upgraded to “hold” from “sell” at Deutsche Bank, which said several factors point to the athletic apparel maker achieving its current quarter and full year earnings goals.
Merck – Merck was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs and added to Goldman’s “Conviction Buy” list, based on Merck’s success with its cancer drug Keytruda.
Hanesbrands – Hanesbrands was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Stifel Nicolaus, which thinks the clothing maker may be able to beat consensus profit growth estimates.
