02:05 PM EDT, 04/09/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Ares Management ( ARES ) on Thursday agreed to acquire real estate investment trust Whitestone REIT ( WSR ) in an all-cash deal worth around $1.7 billion.

Shares of Whitestone jumped nearly 12%, with intraday trading volume rising to more than 4.6 million from a daily average of about 241,000.

Forte Biosciences ( FBRX ) said late Wednesday it has priced a public offering of about 5.7 million common shares at $26.27 per share for total expected gross proceeds of $150 million. Net proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes, the company said.

Shares surged 27% as intraday trading volume soared to over 1.9 million from a daily average of roughly 228,000.

STAAR Surgical ( STAA ) shares surged 23% amid heavy trading intraday after the company overnight reported higher preliminary Q1 net sales. Canaccord Genuity upgraded STAAR to buy from hold while adjusting its price target to $27 from $22.

More than 4.3 million shares of STAAR traded intraday compared with a daily average of about 1.4 million.

Price: 105.39, Change: +0.56, Percent Change: +0.53