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Trading Lessons

How a Few Hours in This Market Rivals a Year’s Investment

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 2/13/2026 6 min read

We perfected it.

The best trading strategy in the stock market right now.

Almost every day last week we saw stocks that followed this pattern. And this week, it’s the only setup you need to pay attention to.

Forget combing through CNN and CNBC articles about what the Magnificent 7 are up to.

Those stocks are too expensive and move too slowly. They don’t offer enough opportunity for small accounts.

Instead, my students and I target stocks that run +50% in a matter of hours.

That’s our window of opportunity.

And with a recurring trade pattern, we can limit our risk while pulling gains that rival an entire year’s investment in the SPY.

Plus, you don’t need to quit your job to watch the market all day long. As I mentioned, these moves only take a couple of hours.

Ladies and gentlemen …

This is the perfect trade pattern for side hustlers.

Stock Market Power Hours

I talk a lot about the importance of premarket and after-hours setups.

  • The momentum is cleaner because of the absence of heavy intraday trading volume.
  • There aren’t volatility halts to break up a perfectly good chart.
  • And it’s when the best catalysts are announced.

But recently, I’ve noticed a leader between the two time frames.

During premarket hours, we find a lot of the best runners of the day because that’s when most of the news is announced.

But there are two major issues with premarket trading.

First, it’s early in the morning.

I’m on the other side of the world right now. And due to the time difference, premarket hours are more attractive than they would be if I was in the U.S.

A lot of my students have a difficult time waking up early. And I completely understand.

Second, brokers open at different times in the morning.

That means, a would-be spiker during premarket might not run because there isn’t enough volume in the market yet. Not enough brokers are open and trading.

Or maybe a stock is ready to spike but a random bearish order directly when a broker opens causes the chart to fail.

The sudden increase of volume throughout premarket hours acts similarly to volatility halts that break up a perfectly good price chart.

As a result, I’m encouraging all of my students to watch the market close at 4 P.M. Eastern and after hours momentum.

There are still news announcements during after hours, like earnings updates, and it’s later in the day so you don’t have to cut into your sleep schedule.

Plus, all the brokers are open. Everyone who wants to trade during after hours already has access.

Recent Examples

I’ve got four examples from last week, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

On February 9, Quince Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: QNCX) spiked 75% into after hours alongside news of an engagement with LifeSci Capital to explore alternatives that maximize shareholder value.

The price spiked another 88% during after hours on February 10.

These were back to back moves on the same stock during the hottest time to trade in the market.

On the QNCX chart below, every candle represents one trading minute:

QNCX chart multi-day, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade
QNCX chart multi-day, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

On February 11 during after hours, Fastly Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLY) spiked 34% with the announcement of record fourth quarter and full year financial results.

The price continued much higher over the next two days.

On the FSLY chart below, every candle represents one trading minute:

FSLY chart multi-day, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade
FSLY chart multi-day, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

On February 12, Haoxin Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: HXHX) spiked 70% into after hours, continuing the momentum it built intraday.

The stock didn’t announce any news. But it has a history of running in December 2025, and StocksToTrade shows the float is only 2.3 million shares.

Those factors, plus the intraday momentum, was enough to make it a solid trade setup.

On the chart below, every candle represents one trading minute:

HXHX chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade
HXHX chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

Also on February 12, Corsair Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: CRSR) spiked 47% into after hours with a bullish earnings announcement.

Similar to the other earnings-announcement spike, FSLY, the price pushed higher into the next day.

Some of these after-hours spikes turn into terrific multi-day moves.

After trading the first run, make sure to set alerts at key levels and keep it on your watchlist.

More Breaking News

CRSR chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade
CRSR chart intraday, 1-minute candles Source: StocksToTrade

Stop Making Excuses. Start Watching at 4 P.M.

I just showed you five setups from ONE week.

  • 75%
  • 88%
  • 34%
  • 70%
  • 47%

These are real gains in the market.

You don’t need to wake up at 6 A.M. for premarket hours. You don’t need to stare at charts during your 9-to-5.

You just need to open your computer at 4 P.M. Eastern when the market closes and after hours begins.

That’s our window.

Make sure your charts show after hours price action.

It’s when all the brokers are open, the volume is strong but not out of control, and we still see news catalysts to propel the stock higher.

This after hours pattern is working RIGHT NOW. I see it almost every day.

You can keep holding the SPY, and hope for 10% this year, or you can spend a few hours after work today hunting for huge stock spikes that can actually flip your account … you know, within this lifetime.

Build your watchlist from intraday strength. Keep an eye on the news tab in your chart software.

And when 4 P.M. hits, make sure you’re ready.

Cheers

 

*Past performance does not indicate future results



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Timothy Sykes

Tim Sykes is a penny stock trader and teacher who became a self-made millionaire by the age of 22 by trading $12,415 of bar mitzvah money. After becoming disenchanted with the hedge fund world, he established the Tim Sykes Trading Challenge to teach aspiring traders how to follow his trading strategies. He’s been featured in a variety of media outlets including CNN, Larry King, Steve Harvey, Forbes, Men’s Journal, and more. He’s also an active philanthropist and environmental activist, a co-founder of Karmagawa, and has donated millions of dollars to charity.
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* Results are not typical and will vary from person to person. Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. There are inherent risks involved with investing in the stock market, including the loss of your investment. Past performance in the market is not indicative of future results. Any investment is at your own risk. See Terms of Service here

The available research on day trading suggests that most active traders lose money. Fees and overtrading are major contributors to these losses.

A 2000 study called “Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors” evaluated 66,465 U.S. households that held stocks from 1991 to 1996. The households that traded most averaged an 11.4% annual return during a period where the overall market gained 17.9%. These lower returns were attributed to overconfidence.

A 2014 paper (revised 2019) titled “Learning Fast or Slow?” analyzed the complete transaction history of the Taiwan Stock Exchange between 1992 and 2006. It looked at the ongoing performance of day traders in this sample, and found that 97% of day traders can expect to lose money from trading, and more than 90% of all day trading volume can be traced to investors who predictably lose money. Additionally, it tied the behavior of gamblers and drivers who get more speeding tickets to overtrading, and cited studies showing that legalized gambling has an inverse effect on trading volume.

A 2019 research study (revised 2020) called “Day Trading for a Living?” observed 19,646 Brazilian futures contract traders who started day trading from 2013 to 2015, and recorded two years of their trading activity. The study authors found that 97% of traders with more than 300 days actively trading lost money, and only 1.1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage ($16 USD per day). They hypothesized that the greater returns shown in previous studies did not differentiate between frequent day traders and those who traded rarely, and that more frequent trading activity decreases the chance of profitability.

These studies show the wide variance of the available data on day trading profitability. One thing that seems clear from the research is that most day traders lose money .

Millionaire Media 66 W Flagler St. Ste. 900 Miami, FL 33130 United States (888) 878-3621 This is for information purposes only as Millionaire Media LLC nor Timothy Sykes is registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser. No information herein is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes cannot and does not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions, should seek the advice of a qualified securities professional before making any investment, and investigate and fully understand any and all risks before investing. Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, Millionaire Media LLC and Timothy Sykes accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Citations for Disclaimer

Barber, Brad M. and Odean, Terrance, Trading is Hazardous to Your Wealth: The Common Stock Investment Performance of Individual Investors. Available at SSRN: “Day Trading for a Living?”

Barber, Brad M. and Lee, Yi-Tsung and Liu, Yu-Jane and Odean, Terrance and Zhang, Ke, Learning Fast or Slow? (May 28, 2019). Forthcoming: Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=2535636”

Chague, Fernando and De-Losso, Rodrigo and Giovannetti, Bruno, Day Trading for a Living? (June 11, 2020). Available at SSRN: “https://ssrn.com/abstract=3423101”