Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Fiserv — Fintech stocks rose more than 5% after the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that Fiserv is in talks with major U.S. banks, including JPMorgan and Bank of America, to sell its payments infrastructure business, which handles debit card transactions. Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals — Vertex will acquire Crinetics in a $10 billion deal to acquire treatments for rare hormonal diseases, the companies announced Monday. Vertex stock fell nearly 1%. Crinetics stock has nearly doubled. First Solar — The solar module maker rose nearly 3% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. The bank cited three reasons why investors should buy stocks on a downtrend, including the possibility of changes in trade policy. SEMICONDUCTORS — Chip stocks fell on the pre-market as investors reduced exposure to artificial intelligence trading after tech giant Samsung’s mixed quarterly results overnight. Micron stock fell 5%, and Lam Research stock also fell. Rivian — The electric car maker’s stock fell 9%. Rivian issued revenue and distribution guidance that beat FactSet consensus estimates. However, the company also announced that it would sell 75 million new shares in a major capital increase. Korean stocks — The decline in global semiconductor stocks affected the Korean stock exchange, which is heavily weighted toward semiconductor companies. The Kospi index fell more than 4%. The iShares MSCI Korea ETF (EWY) fell 4.6% on the market. — CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed reporting.
