01:27 PM EDT, 10/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Quoin Pharmaceuticals ( QNRX ) shares soared 126% amid heavy trading intraday after the company said Friday it reached an agreement with health care focused institutional investors to sell securities worth up to $104.5 million in a private placement.

More than 9.7 million shares traded intraday compared with a daily average of about 46,000.

ESS Tech ( GWH/WS ) disclosed late Thursday a new iron flow battery pilot to deliver power under a 10-year agreement with Salt River Project, a not-for-profit public power utility serving the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.

Shares surged 158% as intraday trading volume catapulted to more than 218 million from a daily average of roughly 473,000.

Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) is in talks to acquire Protagonist Therapeutics ( PTGX ) , The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

PTGX shares jumped past 34%, with intraday trading volume at more than 4 million compared with a daily average of about 849,000.

Price: 18.47, Change: +10.31, Percent Change: +126.35