Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

Xerox – Xerox abandoned its planned $6.1 billion deal with Japan’s Fujifilm, in which Xerox would be combined with the Fuji Xerox joint venture. The move is part of a settlement with major investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, who felt that Xerox was significantly undervalued in that deal. Fujifilm said it was considering its options, including legal action to seek damages.

Ford Motor – Ford plans to resume production of its F-150 pickup trucks on Friday, May 18, at its Dearborn, Michigan, and Kansas City plants, although that could change. F-150 plants stopped production last week because of parts shortages caused by a fire at a factory of a key supplier.

Walmart – Walmart said it may take India-based e-commerce company Flipkart public in as soon as four years, according to a regulatory filing. Walmart announced last week it would pay $16 billion for a 77 percent stake in Flipkart.

JPMorgan Chase – The bank applied to China’s securities regulator to set up a majority-owned securities business in that country.

HSBC – HSBC said it performed the world’s first trade finance transaction using blockchain technology. The bank said the transaction was done on behalf of food and agriculture giant Cargill.

Alphabet – Alphabet’s Waymo autonomous driving technology unit has hired Tesla executive Matthew Schwall. Schwall had been Tesla’s main contact on technology matters with U.S. safety regulators.

State Bank Financial – State Bank agreed to be bought by fellow regional bank Cadence Bancorp in a $1.4 billion all-stock deal.

KKR – The private-equity firm is increasing its investment in Toorak Capital Partners, a firm that buys loans made to home flippers. KKR is upping its investment to $250 million from $75 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.

NXP Semiconductors – China regulators have resumed their review of Qualcomm’s deal to buy NXP, according to a Bloomberg report. China is the only market in which approval for the deal has not yet been received.

Tailored Brands – The men’s apparel retailer was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Jefferies, saying the company has sustainable sales momentum as well as an underappreciated opportunity in custom clothing.

Western Digital – J.P. Morgan Securities began coverage on the hard disk drive maker with an “overweight” rating, noting its prominent market share positions in data storage solutions and solid-state drives.

Brinker International – The restaurant operator said a data breach may have compromised some payment card information at its Chili’s chain. Brinker is still working to evaluate the extent of the breach.

Thomson Reuters – The financial information provider was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Canaccord Genuity, which said investors overreacted to an increase in corporate costs in the company’s latest earnings report. The stock fell nearly four percent Friday following the releases of quarterly numbers.

Source: Investment Cnbc
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: XRX, F, WMT, JPM, HSBC, GOOGL & more