Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
Wal-Mart – Goldman Sachs downgraded its outlook for the retail giant, lowering the firm's rating on Wal-Mart to "neutral" from "buy." In a note, Goldman said Wal-Mart "has solidified its transition to a winner" and sees the market's price for the stock as having caught up to the company's investments in its business.
General Motors – Guggenheim, anticipating GM's autonomous event on November 30, upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral." The firm also raised its price target to $52, saying it expects the automaker "to showcase the advanced status" of its autonomous technology. Guggenheim believes this announcement could give GM a competitive advantage in monetizing the next generation technology.
Cavium – Shares of the semiconductor builder popped more than 6 percent in premarket trading after chipmaker Marvell announced it would acquire Cavium for $40 per share in cash and 2.2 Marvell shares for each Cavium share. Marvell said the acquisition expands the company's addressable cloud data and service market to over $16 billion.
Verizon – The investment arm of Wells Fargo upgraded its outlook on Verizon's stock to "outperform" from "market perform." The firm said "much of the bad news is behind" the telecom giant and expects to hear "a convincing case for both revenue growth and cost containment" from Verizon's fiber initiative.
Qualcomm – The chipmaker is one step closer to completing its $38 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors, Reuters reported. The company is set to win antitrust approval in Japan, with the green light expected as early as the end of this year.
Live Nation Entertainment – The live concert specialist had its stock downgraded by Evercore to "inline" from "outperform." The firm said the market has caught up with Live Nation and now adequately values the business.
Equifax – Fidelity sold approximately 1.2 million shares of Equifax on Friday, according to FactSet. Fidelity is the fourth-largest shareholder among mutual funds.
Cardinal Health – Morgan Stanley cut its rating of the health-care services company to "underweight" from "equal-weight."