Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. Cidara Therapeutics — Shares of Cidara surged 103% after Merck agreed to buy the company for close to $9.2 billion in cash. Merck fell 1%. Avadel Pharmaceuticals — Danish drugmaker Lundbeck offered to acquire the pharmaceutical company for as much as $23 per share, topping biotech firm Alkermes’ earlier bid, sending Avadel 19% higher. Warner Bros. Discovery — The HBO and CNN parent rose almost 3% after the Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount Skydance , Netflix and Comcast are preparing bids for the media company. Warner Bros. Discovery has an initial deadline for first-round bids of Nov. 20, the Journal said, citing sources familiar with the matter. Walmart — The nation’s largest retailer fell 3% after CEO Doug McMillon said he would step down, effective Feb. 1, to be succeeded by John Furner. Robinhood — The fintech company fell 5% as investors rotated away from the technology sector amid concerns over high valuations. Robinhood reported late Thursday a 34% increase in total equity trading volume and a nearly 22% rise in option contracts trading volume on its platform from September to October. Applied Materials — The semiconductor maker fell 6% after Applied Materials gave a lackluster outlook for next year, including modest full-year revenue guidance of $6.85 billion that beat analysts’ expectations by less than 1%, according to FactSet. Applied …
