Check out the companies making headlines before the bell Wednesday.
Johnson & Johnson — The pharmaceutical giant climbed 2.6% after announcing Tuesday it will pay $8.9 billion over the next 25 years to settle claims that the talc in its baby powder and other products caused cancer. J&J also refiled for bankruptcy protection for its LTL Management subsidiary and said it continues to believe the claims lack merit.
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Zions Bancorporation — Shares of Zions Bancorporation rose 3.2% after Baird upgraded the regional bank stock to an outperform rating. The firm said shares are trading at attractive levels not seen since the global financial crisis.
Clean Energy Fuels — The stock was 3.6% higher after Raymond James upgraded Clean Energy Fuels to outperform and assigned it a $6 price target, suggesting shares stand to gain about 42.8% from Tuesday’s close.
Albemarle — Albemarle shed 3.3% after Bank of America downgraded the chemicals manufacturing stock to underperform from neutral. The bank significantly cut its earnings forecast for Albemarle and lowered its price target to $195. The new target implies the stock could fall about 7% from Tuesday’s close.
Lamb Weston — Shares of the potato processing giant were up about 1% ahead of the company’s scheduled earnings release on Thursday. Bank of America included Lamb Weston in its recent list of short-term stock picks for the second quarter, saying it is optimistic the company will beat consensus earnings estimates.
FedEx — Shares of the shipping company gained 3.1% in premarket trading after FedEx announced a dividend hike and a corporate reorganization. FedEx said it will raise its dividend by 10%, consolidate its different business divisions and change its executive compensation packages.
Exelixis — Shares of the biotech company added 1% after The Wall Street Journal reported that hedge fund Farallon Capital Management is planning to wage a proxy battle at Exelixis.
— CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Samantha Subin and Michelle Fox Theobald contributed reporting.