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Lessons From Students

5 Lessons From JC’s Huge Overnight Trade

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Written by Timothy Sykes
Updated 6/19/2026 7 min read

My hardworking student turned Inner Circle mentor JC recently locked in roughly $50,000 on an overnight trade.*

That sounds crazy, right?

Today, we’re going to break it down.

First, understand that JC had NOT been crushing it for a while up to that point.

He was actually struggling.

After making nearly a million dollars in 2025, JC felt stuck between $2.6 and $2.7 million in trading profits.

Imagine what it’s like to feel “stuck” at $2.6 million. That’s a good problem to have, right?

If you’re new, those numbers might even seem beyond your reach (for now).

Because if you think about it, he made an annual salary in a day…

Set those thoughts aside for a few minutes, because HOW JC traded is actually ideal for small accounts.

And THAT is the beauty of trading penny stocks.

So, what did he do that was so right?

Let’s get right to it…

5 Lessons from JC’s QUCY Overnight Trade

From May 13 to May 15, Quantum Cyber N.V. (NASDAQ: QUCY) ran from 30 cents to  $4.93 a share.

To put that into perspective, here’s a 2 month chart:

Source StocksToTrade, QUCY, 2-mo, 1-hour candle, penny stock Supernova
Source StocksToTrade, QUCY, 2-mo, 1-hour candle, penny stock Supernova

The incredible thing is, JC only caught a small part of the move and STILL crushed it.

When I asked JC about his trade, he explained everything…

Overnight Trade Lesson 1: Wait for the Perfect Setup

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JC hadn’t been trading that much. But he saw the stock moving during regular hours on May 13:

Source StocksToTrade QUCY, 5-13-26, 1-min candles, all-day runner with volume
Source StocksToTrade QUCY, 5-13-26, 1-min candles, all-day runner with volume

Here’s what JC said about the move…

“What stuck out to me was the volume. It was a big runner. It was up like 300% heading into the close. What I really liked about it was that it didn’t close strong. It kind of pulled back a little and had one little shake out in after-hours.”

What did JC learn from watching QUCY’s price action?

Overnight Trade Lesson 2: Sometimes You Have To Be Quick

As you can see on the after-hours chart below, it double bottomed around $1.15 before spiking to $1.90 in roughly seven minutes.

Source StocksToTrade, QUCY 5/13/26 after-hours trading
Source StocksToTrade, QUCY 5/13/26 after-hours trading

In JC’s words: “There was a very violent, quick spike. So, I had to be very quick to get a decent position there.”

Understand that this kind of trade works with small accounts, too…

Overnight Trade Lesson 3: An Ideal Trade for Small Accounts

You can take a MUCH smaller position size. Remember, it’s a marathon and not a sprint.

Even taking a small 100 share position with tight risk can help you learn how fast these move.

THAT is the power of trading penny stocks.

Next I asked JC why he held overnight and through the mess in early premarket trading the next day…

Overnight Trade Lesson 4: Know Your Risk and Wiggle Room

In JC’s words…

“I actually had a pretty decent average [around] $1.44 or $1.45. So, being down a few pennies, it doesn’t stress me out too much. Especially because we’re actually holding green. I believe $1.34 was [the May 13] close. So, as long as it’s over that level, I’m comfortable giving it a little bit of wiggle room.”

Here’s the chart from premarket on May 14:

Source StocksToTrade QUCY 5/14/26, 1-min candle, premarket session
Source StocksToTrade QUCY 5/14/26, 1-min candle, premarket session

Did you notice how similar the price action was to the after-hours chart?

Those two charts alone are a lesson in learning how a stock moves from watching the price action.

The last lesson makes me super proud of JC, because he sometimes “round trips” trades when he could’ve sold for a profit.

Like every great trader, JC continues to learn and adapt…

Overnight Trade Lesson 5: Sell Into Strength

In premarket on May 14, JC noticed the two dips were getting bought up. Here’s what he had to say…

“Once it started to break out over $1.50, $1.60, that’s kind of when I knew it was just a matter of time before this squeezes. And next thing you know, we have some volume coming in, and you get that quick spike.”

Now that you have an idea what JC was thinking, watch the full video below as we talk through his trade (and other spikers from the same day).

Millionaire Moves

Again, I played it differently from JC, and that’s fine. You have to figure out what works best for you.

Why should you study these charts and the price action from May?

Because this kind of price action has INCREASED since the end of the PDT Rule earlier this month.

And it is speeding up, turning this Supernova Summer into…

The 2026 Wealth Window

It’s crazy how  many Supernovas we’ve seen in the past 3 weeks.

If it plays out like I think it will, we’re going to see even more Supernovas.

The best part is, we won’t reach peak velocity until the end of this month.

Why then?

Because that’s when most brokerages will have updated their systems to deal with no PDT Rule.

Which is why I’m hosting an urgent briefing with $26M trader Jack Kellogg this Wednesday, June 24th at 8 PM ET.

Jack is going to walk us through the same strategy that generated 4,900% during the last “wealth window” in 2020.

Jack thinks the 2026 wealth window could be even bigger (and I agree). 

Get Jack’s Full Gameplan 

And #1 Stock Pick 

FREE of Charge

Key Takeaway

If you’re feeling stuck with a small account, JC’s trade is a great example of why I focus on penny stocks.

Nobody starts with big wins. Every single one of my millionaire students started small. Most of them lost money in the first year.

But they ALL focused on the process.

You can do the same.

Before you go, if you haven’t registered for the urgent briefing with Jack, do so now.

These wealth windows aren’t always open and they can make a HUGE difference.

Tune in Wednesday to  see just how big a difference the 2020 window made for Jack (and why he thinks 2026 is even bigger).

See you there.

Cheers,

 

– Tim Sykes

 

*Results not typical. Past performance is not indicative of 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”