SXTC on October 7, 2026: why it ran

The day, step by step

• Small cap
• Momentum
• Main move: pre-market and afternoon
• Wall break
• Halt run
• Halted five times
• Lower high after the top
• Faded into the close

The day before

On October 6, SXTC traded between $1.19 and $2.58. The official close was $1.25. The last bar of that day printed $2.09, well above the close.

Pre-market: the float traded by 4:57 a.m.

The first trades on the 7th were at $1.79, already above the $1.25 close. The low so far was $1.56 at 4:20 a.m.

By 4:57 a.m., more shares had traded than exist in the whole float (1.32 million). The 4:57 minute alone traded 252,361 shares.

There was a first wall that morning. At 4:58 a.m. a large ask wall appeared at $2.55. It peaked at 72,007 shares, 5.5% of the float, and was pulled at 5:40:57 a.m.

After that the stock drifted. For most of the next two hours it stayed between about $1.90 and $2.30. At 8:12 a.m. it was still $2.04.

The wall at $2.60

From 6:18 a.m. on, someone was offering a lot of stock at exactly $2.60. It peaked at 61,620 shares at 7:17 a.m., about 5% of the float. The stock stayed under it all morning. At 8:14 a.m. it started climbing toward it.

Here's what happened. At 8:16:17 the first trade printed at $2.60. In 14.7 seconds, 75,149 shares traded at exactly $2.60 and the wall was gone. It wasn't pulled. Buyers ate it.

Within seconds, big buy orders went through many price levels at once. At 8:16:36 one bought 58,262 shares from $2.92 to $3.00. At 8:16:39 another bought 48,694 shares from $3.30 to $3.88 across 44 levels. In that one minute the stock went through $3.00 and $5.00 and hit the pre-market high, $7.07 at 8:16 a.m. The 8:16 minute traded 1.39 million shares and closed at $4.80.

Then it came apart. It was $3.38 by 8:19, $2.00 at 8:42 a.m., down 72% from the high. By 8:34 a.m. the pre-market volume was ten times the float. In all, 18.83 million shares traded before the bell.

The open and the slow fade

It opened at $3.20, up 156% from the previous close. The first minute ran from $3.39 down to $2.57 on 889,732 shares.

A new ask wall formed at $3.00 at 9:41. It grew to 100,461 shares at 10:00:57, 7.6% of the float. Below the market, a bid wall at $2.00 appeared at 9:30:56 and peaked at 65,795 shares at 10:38:54.

The stock slid toward the bid wall. From 10:43:14 to 10:44:40, 48,364 shares traded at exactly $2.00 and the bid wall was eaten. It went on down to $1.87 at 11:07 a.m., down 45% from the $3.39 first-minute high.

After 11:07 it recovered slowly. It was around $2.20 to $2.30 for most of the early afternoon.

Back toward the $3.00 wall

At 12:34 it pushed to $2.60 on 153,056 shares, and at 12:38 to $2.97. By 12:53 it was working back up under the $3.00 wall.

At 12:53:43 the first trade printed at $3.00. In 8.2 seconds, 56,900 shares traded at exactly $3.00 and the wall was eaten. At 12:55:16 two buy orders swept through $3.35 to $3.50. At 12:55:36 it was halted (a volatility pause) after a 12:55 minute that closed at $3.56.

It reopened at 1:00 p.m. at $3.69. The first print was 95,283 shares at $3.69.

It ran to $4.88 at 1:07 p.m., up 32% from the reopen. Then it fell to $3.64 at 1:09, down 25%.

The 1:25 minute traded 658,692 shares and closed at $5.39. A buy order went through 28 price levels, from $4.87 to $5.15. At 1:25:56 it was halted again.

It reopened at 1:30 p.m. at $5.53 and ran to $6.56 at 1:31, up 19%. Then it fell to $5.22 at 1:33, down 20%.

The next push was bigger. From $5.22 it ran to $7.13 at 1:36, up 37%, then on to $7.74 at 1:40. Then it fell to $5.13 at 1:47, down 34% from $7.74.

The top at $9.59, then the fall

From $5.13 at 1:47 it ran to $9.59, the high of the day, at 2:00 p.m. Two big buy orders went through the book on the way up. At 1:55:46 one bought 57,343 shares from $7.34 to $7.90. At 1:58:45 another bought 58,364 shares from $7.77 to $8.25. Within nine minutes the stock was back at $7.18.

It kept sliding. At 2:47 it was $5.10. At 2:48 it dropped to $4.10, and at 2:49:07 it was halted. It reopened at 2:54:07 at $4.32.

At 3:02 p.m. it dropped from $4.29 to $3.57 in one minute. It reached $3.14 at 3:09 p.m., down 67% from the high. At 3:14:37 it was halted again at $4.12, after a bounce. It reopened at 3:24:37 at $4.73, higher than where it stopped.

A bid wall at $4.20 formed at 3:25:44 and peaked at 56,676 shares. At 3:27 p.m. it pushed to $5.12, a lower high under the $9.59 top. By 3:29:58 the $4.20 wall was eaten, with 13,833 shares trading at exactly $4.20 in 2.7 seconds.

At 3:32:53 it was halted for the fifth time. It reopened at 3:42:53 at $3.14, below the $3.45 where it stopped.

The close and after hours

The fade went on: $2.11 at 3:48 p.m. A bid wall formed at $2.00 at 3:44:45. It peaked at 59,420 shares at 3:58:06. The stock closed the regular session at $2.83, 70% below the $9.59 high.

In the regular session, 39.12 million shares traded, on top of 18.83 million before the bell. The float is 1.32 million shares. Volume was about 104 times normal, and the stock was halted five times.

After hours it traded between $2.15 and $2.84, with the high at 4:00 p.m. About 2.67 million shares traded after the close.

What to take from it

• Most halt reopens were thin. At 1:00 p.m. a 5,000-share buy cost $443 more than the screen showed, and at 3:42 p.m. it cost $624 more.
• After the top, the later push stopped far lower. $9.59 at 2:00 p.m., then $5.12 at 3:27 p.m.
• Most of the move was gone by the close. It closed at $2.83, 70% below the $9.59 high, and the pre-market spike to $7.07 had already faded to $2.00 by 8:42 a.m.

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