Beleaguered tech giant BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) still doesn’t appear to know where it’s going, making it tough to pinpoint the value of BBRY stock. Does the company want to be a hardware specialist or one that focuses on software and security? At this point it’s anyone’s guess.

But with BBRY stock — around $7.40 — climbing more than 7% year-to-date, besting the S&P 500 index, investors want to know are these gains sustainable.

It wasn’t long ago that BlackBerry shares nearly tripled on the prospects of its BB10 operating system. Ahead of the launch, some analysts proclaimed that BlackBerry could one day trade in the $40’s. Fast forward two years later and BBRY stock still trades under $10, where it was prior to the BB10 launch.

Why BBRY Stock Struggles

With shares now beating the rest of the market, BlackBerry is doing something it is notorious for: Fooling its shareholders. After pioneering the smartphone market and ruling the industry for almost a decade, the company seems content with celebrating small victories.

One recent example is a patent suit BlackBerry just filed against Nokia Corp (ADR) (NYSE:NOK). While BlackBerry seems intent on litigating its way to growth, investors should prepare for more disappointment.

To its credit, the Canadian company has survived (if you can call it that) the smartphone onslaught from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics (OTCMKTS:SSNLF), and it is finally making money in a much quicker time than expected, which speaks to the leadership capabilities of CEO John Chen. Plus, the fact that we’re even discussing BlackBerry today is a small victory for the company. But there are still tons of deficits BBRY must address.

It has become clear that Chen — who was brought in to build BlackBerry into an M&A target — has taken this company as far as he can take it. Despite all of the boasting the company has done about its superior security capabilities, BBRY stock has had no M&A suitors, suggesting companies like Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) and other enterprise-focused companies with which BlackBerry has often been linked, don’t care.

In my view, with BBRY stock up more than 7% YTD, investors should take this money and run. This looks like yet another head fake. An investment case in BlackBerry stock should involve the company delivering an earnings beat (or two) in each fiscal calendar. With fiscal year revenue projected to decline some 37%, BBRY stock must do more than just show “proof of life” every once in a while.

As of this writing, Richard Saintvilus did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.