Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

Aramark – The food services company struck two weekend acquisition deals for privately held companies. Aramark is buying food and supplies company Avendra and uniform provider AmeriPride Services for a total of $2.35 billion. Avendra is 55 percent owned by hotel operator Marriott International.

Apple – Apple was upgraded to “overweight” from “sector weight” at KeyBanc, which said Apple’s aggressive market segmentation strategy seems likely to increase profit margins.

Ulta Beauty – The cosmetics retailer was removed from the “Conviction Buy” list at Goldman Sachs, although the firm maintained a buy rating. Goldman cites weaker industry data and reduced innovation in cosmetics.

Viacom – Viacom agreed to an extension of carriage talks with Charter Communications, according to Reuters.

T-Mobile US, Sprint – T-Mobile and Sprint are planning to announce a merger without any asset divestitures, according to a Reuters report. People familiar with the matter are quoted as saying the two mobile phone companies want to preserve as much of their spectrum holdings as possible before regulators seek concessions.

Tesla – Tesla fired about 400 workers last week, following an annual review. In a statement, the automaker did confirm the dismissals but did not specify the number of employees involved.

General Motors — GM reached a tentative contract agreement with striking Canadian workers, potentially ending a walkout that began September 18.

BlackBerry – The company’s patent licensing director, Victor Schubert, told Reuters he had left the company but did not give a reason. He is the second executive to depart from BlackBerry’s patent team, following patent strategy leader Mark Kokes. Kokes left in September to join a health technology company. Separately, BlackBerry gets a new ticker symbol as of today, changing to “BB” from “BBRY” as it moves from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange.

Bristol-Myers Squibb – Bristol-Myers was downgraded to “hold” from “buy” at Jefferies in a valuation call. The drugmaker’s stock is up more than 18 percent over the past three months.

Ford Motor – Ford was downgraded to “sector perform” from “outperform” at RBC Capital Markets, with a price target of $13. RBC feels that while new CEO Jim Hackett has a solid vision, most of his proposals won’t have an impact until 2019 or 2020 at the earliest.

Citigroup – The bank’s stock was cut to “sell” from “hold” at Societe General, which cited credit quality concerns. The stock’s price target was cut to $65 per share from $70.

Deckers Outdoor – Susquehanna downgraded the footwear maker’s stock to “negative” from “neutral,” saying poor distribution choices have hurt the company’s iconic UGG brand.

Groupon – The daily deals company’s stock was upgraded to “market perform” from “underperform” at Cowen, which cites improving fundamentals and a more attractive risk-reward outlook.

Source: Investment Cnbc
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: ARMK, AAPL, ULTA, VIAB, TSLA & more