Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. TILRAY — Marijuana stocks rose about 3% on the back of last week’s rally sparked by news that President Donald Trump will direct federal agencies to classify marijuana from its current Schedule I designation to the more relaxed Schedule III designation. Dollar General — Shares rose 3% after Dollar General received a rating upgrade from JPMorgan on Monday. Analysts raised their price target to $166 per share from $128 and upgraded the stock to Overweight. Las Vegas Sands, Marriott International — The hospitality giants rose 2.9% and 1.5%, respectively, after receiving acquisition target upgrades from Goldman Sachs. The bank said Marriott will benefit from strong performance among high-end consumers, while Las Vegas Sands will gain momentum from sustained momentum in Macau. Rocket Lab, EchoStar — Space stocks like Rocket Lab and EchoStar rose 2% on reports that SpaceX received an $800 billion valuation in its latest funding round and is aiming to go public in 2026. Rocket Lab also received a boost after announcing it had launched its first mission for Japan’s Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Alibaba, Baidu — New data showing a slowdown in China’s economy hurt the stocks of e-commerce and internet services companies based in the country. China’s retail sales slowed to 1.3% year-on-year in November from 2.9% in October, data showed. Industrial production also fell short of expectations, increasing by 4.8% versus the expected 5% increase. Alibaba fell 1.5% and Baidu fell 2%. ServiceNow — Shares fell 4% after Bloomberg News reported that the software platform is in talks to buy cybersecurity company Armis for about $7 billion, citing people familiar with the matter. iRobot — The maker of the Roomba vacuum robot plunged 83% after declaring bankruptcy over the weekend. Through the Chapter 11 process, Hong Kong-based Picea will acquire iRobot. — CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed reporting.
