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What To Focus on With Premarket Runners

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Written by Timothy Sykes Reviewed by Jack Kellogg Fact-checked by Ben Sturgill
Updated 5/4/2026 6 min read
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I LOVE premarket runners and right now there are SO many.

The question is…

When it comes to premarket runners, what should you focus on?

I get a ton of questions about this setup.

How do you spot them?

What premarket runners should you avoid?

When are you chasing?

In this post I’ll answer those questions and more.

The Setup

First, if you’re not getting up early you’re missing out (so set an alarm clock and GET UP).

I realize not everyone can be there because of work and life, but if you can…

Premarket is full of opportunities right now (and I have no idea how  long it will last).

Okay, let’s start with the question about these spikers that I get asked most often…

How Do You Spot Premarket Runners So Fast? 

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I’m always looking for big percent gainers.

Every day when I open StocksToTrade to make my watchlist, the first thing I look at is the built-in Top % Gainers scan.

Once you find a premarket runner, what next?

Don’t chase. Which brings up a good question I got during my Inner Circle event over the weekend.

How Do You Know When You’re Chasing?

For me, I don’t like buying a stock when it’s too far above the VWAP.

For example, yesterday Skycore Solar Group Limited (NASDAQ: PN) spiked in premarket.

Notice how far the price is from the VWAP line where the circle is on my chart below.

Source StocksToTrade PN 5/4/26 premarket runner, price too far from VWAP for me to buy
Source StocksToTrade PN 5/4/26 premarket runner, price too far from VWAP for me to buy

If a stock is hugging the VWAP (or just bouncing off it) then I’ll consider it.

But if it’s too far away from VWAP then it’s too risky.

It’s better to wait for the pullback to catch the next leg up.

Remember, if you’re late that’s okay. Keep watching because there might be another entry.

I often buy the dip at or near VWAP…

AFTER the initial spike.

More Breaking News

It’s Okay To Just Watch and Learn

If you’re not sure, just watch, okay?

This is SUPER IMPORTANT.

Too many shady chat room pumpers front run their followers.

Once they have a position, they try to get their followers to buy, buy, buy….

While the chat room pumper sells into them.

NEVER follow another trader into a trade.

I alert students ONLY so they can watch and learn. I don’t even trade most of the stocks I alert.

Beware of Fake Breakouts

This applies to all breakouts. But in premarket you have to be extra careful because if there’s not as much volume you can get stuck in a trade. Top tip: only trade premarket runners with big volume.

When you dip buy off a new high, beware of the fake breakout. If the stock doesn’t blow past the previous high, I usually get out.

Sometimes that means I’m wrong and miss out on a bigger move. But I prefer clean price action.

Millionaire Moves

Today I want to focus on a few Trading Challenge students who wake up every morning ready for premarket runners.

They’re not millionaires. But every one of my millionaire students goes through a similar process.

Check it out…

  • 7:42AM  Clark_Kile:$CNSP in 400 @ 7.97 Out @ 10.
  • 7:42AM  PipeWrench: $CNSP missed earlier move, hit the RCT in 7.87 sold 1/2 @ 8.62 closed @ 9.40
  • 7:51AM StockSmith: $CNSP 7.9 – 10.34
  • 7:52AM  Nerd: $CNSP in at 9.58 out at 9.79. Scary! But made $210. I think I’m done with this stock.
  • 8:54AM Nerd: $CNSP in at 8.24, out at 8.96
  • 8:44AM chebetk: CNSP 5.40-5.88,8.39-8.85
  • 9:34AM Sal777: 2 trades on $CNSP in 9.63 out 10.20 and in 10.02 out 10.29

Obviously, past performance is not indicative of future results. The above comments came directly from the Trading Challenge chat.

I’ve now helped more than 50 regular people become millionaires through trading. That said, I’m not the only teacher and my way isn’t the only way.

Which brings me to my friend Ben Sturgill…

Ben is running a two-day options bootcamp starting a week from today on May 12. Ben is one of the smartest people (and best traders) I know.

Ben’s bootcamp is free to attend, but you have to register here.

There’s also a VIP option which I highly recommend.

Calyst Watch

Watch every premarket runner you can.

Look, there are a bunch of different catalysts for premarket runners…

News, chat pumps, sympathy plays, contracts, distribution deals…

They’re not special when it comes to catalysts.

The best thing for you to do is to FIND the premarket runners. Then…

Find the catalyst. Then keep track in your trade journal.

Whatever the reason, watch and learn. That’s how you grow your knowledge account.

Key Takeaway

It’s okay to miss premarket runners. And it’s okay to not take a trade because you don’t want to chase.

But if you’re serious about gaining freedom through trading…

Get up. Watch. Learn.

And when you’re ready, take the trade.

Cheers,

 

– Tim Sykes

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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”