This is a hot market for trading ANY time of day.
There are plays galore, including premarket, normal hours and after-hours
That said, I’m leaning into after-hours trading.
Again, I’m happy to trade premarket, midday, power hour…
Whenever there’s a play that fits my patterns and criteria.
But there are a few things I REALLY love about after-hours trading right now…
After-Hours Trading Is Hot
I didn’t like trading after-hours when I first started out.
I didn’t even like to trade much between 10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Why?
Because that was the dead zone.
But now, because there are so many shorts, and because there’s no more PDT, I’m even trading midday.
So, this is not to say that I’m ONLY trading after-hours.
There’s no one right answer as to when is the best time to trade.
And if you want to trade premarket or normal hours, that’s cool.
But right now, I think after-hours trading has the best action and some of the best opportunities
So, even though this goes against EVERYTHING I used to believe, here are my reasons why after-hours trading is awesome.
After-Hours Trading Has No Volatility Halts
With all the short squeezes we’re seeing, there are a TON of volatility halts.
For example, when Twin Vee PowerCats Co. (VEEE) had the perfect trifecta of a news catalyst, free chat room pumps, and shorts getting squeezed on July 13, it halted 13 times throughout the day.
Crazy, right? Check it out…
Source: Stocks To Trade
VEEE, 7/13/26, 1-min candle, volatility halts.
All those halts are short-selling torture. The stock only traded for a total of six minutes between 10:48 and 11:16 a.m. ET.
The halts messed it up, meaning the torture for shorts is accentuated.
Those halts are scary if you’re trying to trade the long side of a short squeeze, too.
After-hours, the price action was much cleaner….
Source: Stocks To Trade
VEEE 7/13/26, after-hours, clean price action.
You can clearly see the volume spike on the chart when VEEE squeezed from roughly $30 to $41 (in ONE minute).
But also notice before that spike, how the price action was much better than the halts and skips during regular hours.
Matt Monaco sometimes refers to this halting and skipping as playing the stock market on “hard mode.”
Compared to the volatility halts, VEEE’s after-hours action was more like “easy mode.”
Another reason I’m leaning into after-hours trading is because I’m seeing…
After-Hours Runners With Multiple Waves Higher and Higher
For example, check out this clean after-hours price action on Shuttle Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (SHPH) (also July 13):
Source: Stocks To Trade
SHPH, 7/13/26, after-hours VWAP hold, short squeeze with volume.
As you can see, it had multiple waves higher during after-hours trading.
Eventually, SHPH got a little far from Volume-Weighted Average Price (VWAP) and double topped.
But then it came back down and lured more short sellers into the trap.
When it held VWAP, it squeezed from the $4.40s to the $5.50s in six minutes.
VEEE and SHPH are just two examples from earlier this week.
But there are SO many more.
For example, Wrap Technologies Inc. (WRAP) and Elong Power Holding Limited (ELPW) spiked after-hours on July 9…
Source: Stocks To Trade
WRAP after-hours spike.
Source: Stocks To Trade
ELPW after-hours spike.
There’s a temptation to get up and walk away at the end of the trading day.
Right now, I think some of the best trades come after hours.
Even if you just stick around to watch and learn, it’s helpful.
And for those of you who work a full-time job…
After-hours is an ideal time to start honing your skills and learning to recognize the patterns as they happen live.
Unlike in the past, I now encourage students to develop the skills and discipline to partake in after-hours trading.
Key Takeaway
Whether you prefer premarket, normal trading hours, or after-hours…
This is a beautiful market for small account traders.
Remember, it’s important to understand what you’re seeing with the price action.
If you want to understand more about after-hours trading, it’s good to watch after-hours price action as much as possible.
But also…
That’s not to say that things won’t change again. I always encourage traders to adapt.
But right now, I’m leaning into after-hours trading because it is awesome.
If you have any questions, email me at [email protected].
Cheers,
Tim SykesEditor, Tim Sykes Daily
