Among the companies with shares expected to trade actively in Wednesday's session are Panera Bread Co. (PNRA), Plug Power Inc. (PLUG), and Monsanto Co. (MON).

Panera Bread has agreed to be acquired by European investment fund JAB Holding Co. in a roughly $7.16 billion deal, excluding debt, that adds yet another household-name brand to JAB's portfolio. Shares of Panera Bread jumped 14% to $311.15 in premarket trading.

Plug Power has surged 70% to $2.21 after Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN) bought the right to buy a piece of the fuel-cell maker.

Monsanto said Wednesday that its second-quarter profit was boosted by its corn and soybean businesses as the introduction of its new soybean variety continues. Shares rose 1.6% to $116.01 premarket.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.'s (WBA) pharmacy business picked up in the U.S. in the latest period with the highest quarterly prescription growth in years, but reported revenue fell more than Wall Street anticipated. The company offered no new information regarding its much-watched tie-up with Rite Aid Corp. (RAD), saying the deal was on track to close by its extended timeline of the end of July. Shares or Rite Aid rose 2.9% to $4.36 premarket.

Citigroup Inc.(C) has gained 1.4% to $60.49 premarket after getting upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Write to Jenny Roth at jenny.roth@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 05, 2017 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT)