Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
– The home builder bought rival in a stock swap deal valued at $5.7 billion, excluding assumed debt. The combination creates the largest home builder in the U.S. as measured by both revenue and market capitalization.
– Apple is on watch amid early indications that demand is stronger than expected but that production problems continue. Delivery time estimates extended to five to six weeks shortly after online pre-orders began on Friday.
– Strayer struck a deal to merge with rival for-profit college in a stock swap deal valued at $1.9 billion.
– The paint and coatings maker is in talks with Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel about an Akzo purchase, with Akzo saying it was in "constructive talks" following Friday reports that the two might strike a deal. Akzo had been in the news earlier this year when it rejected a takeover bid from another U.S.-based rival, .
– Novartis is offering to buy French drugmaker for $3.9 billion in cash, or $82 per share. Advanced Accelerator CEO Stefano Buono said the company backed the deal, which would help Novartis strengthen its oncology portfolio.
– is buying its fellow utility company in an all-stock deal worth $13.24 per Dynegy share, an 18 percent premium compared to Friday's close.
– The automaker's stock was downgraded to "sell" from "neutral" at Goldman Sachs, which points to the current valuation and the likelihood of a downward inflection for GM earnings in 2018.
– The chipmaker's stock was downgraded to "underweight" from "neutral" at Morgan Stanley, saying it has been skeptical that AMD could earn enough to justify its valuation but was keeping it at "equal weight" while its estimates were above Street consensus. That is no longer the case, resulting in the downgrade.
– The bank may rid itself of a restriction put in place after last year's sales scandal, according to a Reuters report. People familiar with the matter say acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika wants to make it easier for Wells Fargo to pay employees when they leave. The restriction currently in place subjects any severance payouts to clearance by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
– Insys founder John Kapoor has resigned from the drugmaker's board of directors, following his arrest last week on charges he bribed doctors to prescribe opioid drugs. Kapoor issued a statement saying he believes he will be fully vindicated after the trial.
– GE's board reportedly did not know until recently that former Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt had an extra jet follow his corporate jet on some trips during his 16-year tenure. The Wall Street Journal said directors did not know of the matter until this month, nor did it know about an internal complaint about the practice several years ago.
– Nintendo raised its full-year earnings forecast, following strong sales of its Switch video game console during its fiscal second quarter as well as a much-better-than-expected profit for that period.
– The beer and spirits maker will take a 9.9 percent stake in Canadian marijuana company , the world's largest publicly traded cannabis company with a Toronto Stock Exchange market value of 2.2 billion Canadian dollars.
– Chevron reversed an earlier decision to sell its natural gas operations in Bangladesh but did not give a reason for that move.
– CVS talked to about a possible takeover deal, before setting its sights on , according to The Wall Street Journal. The paper said CVS also considered the idea of a deal with .
– The bank reported a quarterly profit compared to a year-ago loss, with particularly strong results in the Hong Kong market.
– Merck was downgraded to "hold" from "buy" at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, which cites increasing competition and reduced estimates for sales of Merck's cancer drug Keytruda.