Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Netgear — The San Jose, Calif.-based maker of WiFi routers and network switches surged 11% after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned all imports of consumer routers made abroad, saying they pose national security risks. Jefferies Financial Group — Shares of the investment bank rallied nearly 7% after The Financial Times, citing people familiar, reported that Japan’s second-largest lender, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, is planning a possible takeover of Jefferies. Apollo Global Management — The asset management giant fell 2% after it was revealed the company will limit withdrawals from its flagship private credit fund to less than half of requests. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Apollo said it had redemption requests that totaled to 11.2% of shares outstanding in the first quarter, exceeding the 5% cap per quarter the fund allows. Smithfield Foods — The packaged meats stock jumped 5.6% on better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter. Earnings from continuing operations came in at 83 cents on an adjusted bases, while revenue totaled $4.23 billion Analysts polled by FactSet expected a profit of 68 cents per share on revenue of $4.14 billion Earnings guidance also exceeded estimates, and the company increased its quarte …
