Trying to invest in e-commerce outfit Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) is maddening. There’s no other way to say it. The problem is that Shopify stock can (and will) stop and reverse course at the drop of a hat and with no warning.

Case in point: After rallying nearly 50% between April and June, SHOP stock has fallen 20% just since July’s peak, even though its fundamentals have not changed at all.

Following the advice of analysts, unfortunately, is of little help. Shares blew past analysts’ average price target of $158.64 for Shopify stock for a short while in June, but have since fallen well under that level. Clearly most investors don’t care about experts’ opinions. They’re more swayed by headlines, hope, and an admittedly impressive financial trajectory that overrides concerns about valuations.

What’s a level-header investor to do? First and foremost, embrace rather than fight what Shopify is. Second – and this is a close second – use “the game” to your advantage.

What Shopify Stock Is

As most traders know, at least on a subconscious level, Shopify is a story stock, with all the trappings and nuances thereof.

In other words, SHOP stock is a volatile mess, hijacked by headlines and rhetoric that are in constant flux.

The basic story is a compelling one. Shopify is a platform that lets companies of all sizes build e-commerce businesses. Similar services have been tried in the past, but this one seems to have found a winning formula. SHOP’s revenue is on pace to grow more than 50% this year, and next year’s top line is projected to surge almost 40%. Perhaps more importantly, the company’s operating profits are expected to soar next year. Analysts expect the company’s non-GAAP earnings per share to rise from this year’s 19 cents to 59 cents in 2019. The big improvement is ultimately the result of greater scale.

That’s the side of the story the bulls are touting. The bears have their own angle. Chief among their worries is the ridiculous valuation of Shopify stock.

Even if Shopify does earn 59 cents per share of operating profits in 2019, the stock is still priced at 237 times next year’s estimated non-GAAP bottom line. And, on a GAAP basis, Shopify is still losing money. That’s not apt to change in a meaningful away anytime soon, even given the company’s growth trajectory.

That situation enables bulls and bears to make all kinds of viable forecasts for Shopify, making Shopify stock vulnerable to the type of volatility we’ve seen recently.

There is a solution, though.

Take a Big Step Back

In the 1983 movie WarGames, the militaristic supercomputer ultimately figured out that the best way to win a nuclear war game was to simply not play the game in the first place.

For the most part, the same idea applies to Shopify stock. Most traders who have a short-term view will ultimately be hurt by the unexpected volatility of SHOP stock. Ever-changing headlines only fuel the erratic action.

The smart move is to take a step back and recognize that the behavior of Shopify stock is not atypical for a young company.

The premise of Shopify is a sound one, and investors have flocked to the idea since its mid-2015 IPO. It’s becoming clear now, however, that those optimists may have overshot, as they thought that the company’s financials would be strong sooner than was possible. The lull in Shopify stock since its July peak is a reflection of this realization.

Yet sometime next year – if the analysts are on target – Shopify should start to produce operating profits that are at least somewhat “reasonable” for a young but fast-growing company.

But in the meantime, difficult times could be ahead for SHOP stock. The euphoria that obscures reality is winding down, but the company’s results aren’t inspiring that much optimism yet. Stuck in a proverbial purgatory, SHOP stock will look and feel relatively bearish for some time.

Don’t mistake that weakness as an indictment of the company’s business model. Likewise, don’t mistake any near-term rebound by Shopify stock as the “all-clear” signal. It could take months for SHOP stock to work through all the kinks created by the overly upbeat investors.

In the not-so-distant future, however, Shopify stock will become attractive. But that won’t happen today, tomorrow, or next week.

One Last Word on Shopify Stock

But there is one possible road closure ahead that could make the map I’ve provided useless. Specifically, Shopify could be acquired.

Rumors of such a development have been circulating for months, with Walmart (NYSE:WMT) being pegged as the most plausible suitor. Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) has also been raised as a possibility, though neither company has shown any overt signs of being interested in buying Shopify. Still, if the rumors do gain any real credibility, SHOP stock would pop without any warning.

Somehow even secretive deals aren’t complete surprises when they materialize. More often than not, the news was leaked beforehand. Investors would likely at least hear credible rumors of a deal before a transaction is officially announced.

Barring that stroke of luck, though, fans of the Shopify story need to remain very patient here, letting the euphoria and subsequent lull run their full course. Ironically, most investors are likely to give up on Shopify right around the time that its margins really start to climb.

As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. You can follow him on Twitter, at @jbrumley.