Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. Rigetti Computing , Quantum Computing , D-Wave Quantum – Stocks tied to quantum computing were surging in premarket trading, building on a strong year-end rally for the budding industry . Shares of Rigetti rose 27%, while D-Wave Quantum’s stock jumped 5% and Quantum Computing shares added almost 8%. KULR Technology Group – The stock added more than 11%. On Thursday, shares of the space technology company soared more than 40% after it said it bought 217.18 bitcoin worth about $21 million. The purchase was the company’s first since its announcement of a new bitcoin treasury initiative on Dec. 4, when bitcoin topped $100,000 for the first time. Honda – The automaker’s U.S.-listed shares continued to advance after Honda officially began merger talks with fellow Japanese automaker Nissan . The stock was up nearly 3% in early Friday trading, and was last on pace for a 19% weekly gain. Toyota Motor – Shares rose more than 2%, extending the nearly 9% gain seen in the previous session. Earlier this week, Nikkei, citing an executive who asked not to be named, reported that the Japanese automaker is aiming to double its return on equity, or ROE, to 20% . MicroStrategy – Shares of the bitcoin proxy gained nearly 1% as the price of the cryptocurrency advanced above $96,000 on Friday. This comes a day after crypto markets were under pressure on Thursday. During that trading session, MicroStrategy fell 4.8%. GameStop – The stock fell nearly 2%, reversing the gains seen in the previous sessions. Shares of the video game retailer have been on a five-day winning streak and have surged more than 88% this year. Red Cat Holdings – Shares gained more than 3%, continuing its massive run this year. In 2024, the drone stock has gained nearly 1,424%. The stock has also risen about 14% month to date amid a broader rally in the category, as drone sightings across the Northeast spurred retail interest in the sector and the company partnered with Palantir . Amedisys , UnitedHealth – Shares of Amedisys rose more than 4%, while UnitedHealth was marginally lower after a filing revealed that the companies entered into a new waiver agreement , extending the deadline for closing their $3.3 billion merger. The new deadline is 10 days after a final court decision is issued in the lawsuit or on Dec. 31, 2025, whichever is earlier. Netflix – The stock fell almost 1%. On Thursday, the NFL said in a statement that nearly 65 million combined viewers watched the streaming giant’s NFL coverage, setting streaming records. According to the statement , the game between Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers brought in an average of 24.1 million viewers, while the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans scored 24.3 million viewers. That makes them the most streamed NFL games in U.S. history. — CNBC’s Jesse Pound and Lisa Kailai Han contributed reporting.
