Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

Insurance stocks – Florida-based insurers and their reinsurers are in focus today as the impact from hurricanes Irma and Harvey is assessed. Among them: HCI Group, Universal Insurance Holdings, Heritage Insurance, XL Group, and Everest Re Group.

Johnson & Johnson – J&J’s Janssen pharmaceutical unit will discontinue development of hepatitis C treatments, given the number of effective therapies already in the marketplace. That is also impacting shares of Achillion Pharmaceuticals, which has now terminated its research collaboration with Janssen.

Pilgrim’s Pride – The poultry processor announced the acquisition of poultry and prepared foods supplier Moy Park from its owner, Brazilian meat processor JBS, in a transaction valued at $1.3 billion. Moy Park will remain headquartered in Northern Ireland.

Teva Pharmaceutical – The world’s biggest generic drug company named Kare Schultz as its new CEO, ending a search for a permanent chief executive that began in February. Schultz had been president and CEO at Danish drugmaker H. Lundbeck.

Sanofi, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals – The two drugmakers said an experimental treatment for severe asthma met its two primary goals in a clinical study.

Bristol-Myers Squibb – Bristol saw positive results in research involving its immunotherapy drug Opdivo, according to researchers. The drug was found to be better and safer than Bristol’s older treatment Yervoy.

Apple – Apple’s new iPhone, to be unveiled at an event tomorrow, could be named the iPhone X rather than the iPhone 8, according to leaks reported by The Verge.

Newell Brands – Jefferies cut the household products maker to “hold” from “buy” following Newell’s cautious comments on its 2018 outlook, specifically input cost inflation and higher investment spending.

Seagate Technology – The hard disk drive maker was cut to “hold” from “buy” by analysts at Jefferies, who think the company will struggle to ramp up production of key 10TB drives and will also face increased price competition.

Alphabet – Alphabet’s Google unit will appeal a proposed 2.2 billion euro fine by European regulators for alleged monopoly abuse, according to the Telegraph newspaper. Google is expected to file its appeal today.

Facebook — Facebook is willing to spend up to $1 billion on original content through the end of next year, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Equifax – The credit reporting agency is unlikely to be able to cover the costs of its massive data breach through insurance, according to a Bloomberg report.

Cadence Design Systems — Cadence is set to join the S&P 500, replacing Staples. The maker of electronic design software will replace Staples when the office supplier retailer completes its deal to be acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

MasterCard – The credit card issuer was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” at Guggenheim, based in part on the long term revenue opportunity from the company’s “Faster Payments” initiative.

MGM Resorts – Deutsche Bank downgraded the resort and casino operator to “hold” from “buy.” The bank said potential upside for the stock would be challenging, given late-cycle slowness in the Las Vegas market among other factors.

Source: Investment Cnbc
Early movers: HCI, UVE, HRTG, XL, RE, JNJ, PPC, TEVA, AAPL & more