See the companies making headlines before the bell. United States Steel — Industrial stocks plunged 6% after Vice President Kamala Harris opposed the planned sale of United States Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel. She made the remarks during a Labor Day rally in front of union members in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she said United States Steel was “a storied American company and it’s vital to our country to maintain strong American steel companies.” Boeing — Shares fell 3% after Wells Fargo downgraded the aircraft maker from equal weight to underweight. Analyst Matthew Akers cited the company’s peak free cash flows as the reason for the downgrade. Unity Software — The video game maker rose 6% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock from equal weight to overweight. The bank noted Unity’s position as “the clear gaming engine” and downgraded the risk to future estimates as catalysts for the stock. NetApp — The data storage stock added 1.6% after an upgrade from hold to buy at Loop Capital. Loop analyst Ananda Baruah listed several catalysts, including NetApp’s cloud storage software partnerships and a recent pullback. Novartis — Shares fell 1.7% after Jefferies downgraded its rating from “buy” to “hold.” Analyst Peter Welford noted that while he’s bullish on the drug stock’s long-term trajectory, Novartis will need time until 2025 to ramp up its approvals. Bank of America — The bank’s stock dipped slightly. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which began reducing its Bank of America holdings this summer, disclosed Friday that it sold more shares last week. Merck — The pharmaceutical giant announced Tuesday that the European Commission has approved a combination of drugs, including Merck’s Keytruda, as a treatment for bladder cancer. Merck stock was virtually unchanged. – CNBC's Michelle Fox and Jesse Pound contributed reporting.
