Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
General Electric – Barclays upgraded shares of GE to "overweight" from "equal weight," writing that "even the most hardened skeptic might want to re-consider following" GE naming Larry Culp as chairman and CEO. The firm has a 12-month price target of $16 on shares of GE but also laid out a "blue sky" scenario for how the stock can rise if Culp can aggressively improve profitability.
Petrobras – J.P. Morgan upped its rating of Petrobras to "overweight" from "neutral." The potential for the Brazilian oil giant is driven by volume growth and reduced political risk, among other factors, and J.P. Morgan raised its price target on Petrobras shares to $17.
Apple – A top Apple security officer told Congress in a letter that the tech company found no sign that it had been penetrated by a sophisticated Chinese attack on its supply chain. Apple said it has repeatedly investigated the claims made in a Bloomberg Businessweek article and found no evidence chips sold to Apple by Super Micro Computer allowed for backdoor transmissions.
Walmart – The retailer is partnering with movie studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer to produce content for Vudu a video streaming service. Walmart bought Vudu eight years ago and is looking to boost viewership to compete head-to-head with those such as Netflix and Hulu.
Amazon – Merchants and brands are increasingly worried about competing directing with Amazon's private label business. The e-commerce company is aggressively expanding its private label business, ramping up the number of its own brands sold exclusively on its website.
Ensco – The offshore drilling contractor will acquire Rowan in an all-stock deal. The combined company will have an enterprise value of about $12 billion.
Boeing – The European Union cleared the joint venture agreed to by Boeing and Adient, a manufacturer of automotive seats. The aerospace joint venture, announced in January, will give Boeing a greater footprint in outfitting record numbers of airplanes its selling.
Google – The London High Court blocked blocks mass legal action against Alphabet's Google, according to a report by Sky News, rejecting claims the tech company collected data from iPhone customers.
— , , Onex Corp., and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are in a bid to buy the aluminum products maker, according to a report by Reuters.
Disclosure: Comcast is the owner of NBCUniversal, parent company of CNBC and CNBC.com. Comcast is also a co-owner of Hulu.