Take a look at the top companies that made headlines long before the bell rang.

Merck (MRK) – Merck shares surged 7.5% in the premarket after it announced that its experimental Covid-19 pill cut the risk of death and hospitalization by 50% in a late-stage study. Merck intends to apply for an emergency use authorization as quickly as possible.

Lordstown Motors (RIDE) – Lordstown struck a deal to sell its Ohio plant to Taiwan’s FoxconnFoxconn will take over manufacturing the full-sized pickup truck for Lordstown at $230 million. A deal was expected between the parties, according to reports earlier in this week. Premarket trading saw Lordstown rise 6.3%

Coty (COTY) – The cosmetics company’s stock gained 2% in the premarket as it announced a deal to sell another 9% stake in its Wella beauty business to private equity firm KKR (KKR). KKR will also redeem approximately half of the convertible preferred shares it still holds in Wella. Coty’s share is now down to 30.6%. Coty sold a 60% stake to KKR in Wella last December.

Zoom Video Communications (ZM) – Zoom and Five9By mutual consent, (FIVN), have ended a deal worth nearly $15 billion. Zoom attempted to purchase the call center operator but Five9 shareholders rejected it. They will keep the existing partnership between them. Zoom rose 4% during the premarket, while Five9 fell 1.4%

Walt Disney (DIS) – Disney and Scarlett Johansson have settled a lawsuit involving the “Black Widow” movie. Johansson was suing Disney about the Disney+ streaming release at the exact same time the movie premiered in theaters. The settlement terms were not revealed.

Wells Fargo (WFC) – Wells Fargo will have to face a shareholder fraud lawsuit involving its attempt to rebound from years of scandals. Judge rejected Wells Fargo’s request to have the suit dismissed. The judge ruled that the claims of various Wells Fargo officers about recovery could be false or misleading.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) – Exxon Mobil said in an SEC filing that higher oil and gas prices could boost third-quarter earnings by as much as $1.5 billion. Exxon’s profits are improving despite the increasing prices and the cost-cutting measures by the energy giant.

Nio (NIO) – Nio reported deliveries of 10,628 vehicles in September, a 126% increase over a year ago for the China-based electric vehicle maker. Nio increased 1.8% in premarket.

International Flavors (IFF) – The maker of food flavoring and cosmetic ingredients said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andreas Fibig plans to retire, although he’ll remain at the helm of the company until a successor is found. Premarket activity saw shares rise by 2.5%

Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) – Jefferies reported a quarterly profit of $1.50 per share, beating the 99-cent consensus estimate, with the financial services company’s revenue also topping Wall Street forecasts. Jefferies was boosted in results by the strong performance of its investment banking division. Jefferies saw a 1.4% increase in premarket.

MGM Resorts (MGM) – Susquehanna Financial downgraded MGM to “negative” from “neutral,” saying the DraftKingsMGM’s chances in digital gambling and betting markets are weakened by Entain’s (DKNG).