Early movers: CTRX, ASPX, DD, ALTR, MSG & more

These are the stocks posting the largest moves before the bell.

Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

Catamaran (Toronto Stock Exchange: CCT-CA)-UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) is buying pharmacy benefits manager Catamaran for $12.8 billion or $61.50 per share and combining it with its OptumRx unit.

Hyperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HPTX)-The California-based biopharmaceutical company is being bought by Ireland's Horizon Pharma (NASDAQ: HZNP) for $1.1 billion in cash or $46 per share.

Auspex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ASPX)-Auspex is being bought by Teva (Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: TEVA-IL) for $101 per share, or $3.2 billion in cash. Auspex, which went public last year, specializes in treatments for patients with movement disorders and other rare diseases.

Nike (NYSE: NKE)-The athletic apparel and footwear maker was upgraded to "outperform" from "neutral" at Baird, which called Nike reasonably valued for one of the highest quality large cap growth companies in the consumer discretionary sector.

DuPont (NYSE: DD)-Fidelity Investments is pressuring the company and investor Nelson Peltz's Trian to settle their proxy fight, according to Reuters. Fidelity, which is a major investor in DuPont, reportedly sees the fight as detrimental.

GNC Holdings (NYSE: GNC)-The maker of nutritional supplements agreed to new quality control procedures that exceed those required by federal law. The new agreement will be formally announced today by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Oracle (NYSE: ORCL)-The business software maker was upgraded to "outperform" from "sector perform" at RBC, reflecting a "more confident view" on the company's cloud-based growth.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ: CALM)-The egg producer reported quarterly profit of $1.05 per share, 5 cents below estimates, though revenue was better than Street forecasts. The company said it did see higher volumes as well as higher prices during the quarter.

Altera (NASDAQ: ALTR)-Shares of Altera are on watch once again today, after rising late in Friday's regular stock session on reports the company was in talks to be acquired by rival chipmaker Intel (NASDAQ: INTC). That news also drove up the stock of Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX), which-like Altera-specializes in programmable chips.

EBay (NASDAQ: EBAY)-Ebay's StubHub unit is suing Ticketmaster and the NBA's Golden State Warriors, alleging the two broke state and federal law by forcing fans to use Ticketmaster exclusively to resell tickets.

Angie's List (NASDAQ: ANGI)-The business rating website operator put a planned Indiana expansion on hold, in the continuing controversy over Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Restoration Hardware (NYSE: RH)-The home goods retailer was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at Goldman Sachs. Goldman sees the stock priced at an attractive entry point, and that its fortunes are tied to an improving housing market.

TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO)-The stock was rated "outperform" in new coverage at Macquarie, which mentions a "compelling" video platform as well as prospects for international growth.

Madison Square Garden (NASDAQ: MSG)-MSG plans to split into two companies, one to own its sports teams, entertainment productions, and the MSG arena, while the other would distribute the company's sports and entertainment content. MSG had revealed that it was exploring such a move back in October.

Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)-The two will extend talks aimed at renegotiating their 10-year search partnership by 30 days. The two had originally struck the partnership in 2010 in hopes of better competing with Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL).

Best Buy (NYSE: BBY)-Best Buy will consolidate and close stores in Canada, in a move that the electronics retailer said will cost it up to $280 million in restructuring charges this year.

DreamWorks Animation (NASDAQ: DWA)-The studio's movie "Home" topped the weekend box office with better-than-expected North American ticket sales of $54 million. "Home" will be the only release by DreamWorks in 2015.

Chevron (NYSE: CVX)-The energy giant sold its 50-percent stake in refiner Caltex Australia for $3.7 billion.


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