Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
Twitter–Macquarie has cut its rating on Twitter to "underperform" from "neutral", saying there's nothing to justify the 40 percent run-up for the stock since December 11.
Textron—The industrial conglomerate struck a $1.4 billion deal to buy aircraft maker Beechcraft, which exited bankruptcy earlier this year under the control of several hedge funds.
WPCS International—The company released a beta version of a platform for Bitcoin traders.
Tesla–Speculation is increasing that the automaker could be bought in 2014 by Ford or General Motors, according to an article in USA Today. Earlier this week, Yra Harris of Praxis Trading predicted on CNBC that Tesla would be sold to GM in the coming year.
UPS–The carrier may have experienced its Christmas delivery problems, at least in part, because of the smaller size of its air fleet, according to the Wall Street Journal.
ANI Pharmaceuticals–The drug maker has purchased the rights to 31 generic drug products already on the market from Teva Pharmaceutical for $12.5 million, plus a percentage of future sales.
3D Systems–The maker of 3D remains on the watch list after a volatile week that saw the stock gain 5.2 percent Monday, lose 5.3 percent Tuesday,only to surge 7 percent Thursday.
—By CNBC's Peter Schacknow
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