If you’ve been stuck holding the hefty bag called Sears Holdings Corp (NYSE:SHLD), now could be an ideal time to look for the exits. SHLD stock has risen as much as 11% in the past five days, rising to a high of $7.18 before falling back below $7. And other than announcing additional store closures, which suggests the dying retailer still can’t get its act together, there has been no justification for these gains.

With a net debt position of more than $4 billion along with a negative $1.5 billion in cash flow, SHLD stock has been a falling knife. And it will continue to be.

Even with the recent rise, investors have seen more than 26% of their wealth this year disappear, while losing almost 45% in twelve months. As Sears struggle to turn things around in the new Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)-dominated world of retail, only the short sellers, who control 76% of the float, have gotten rich. And don’t hold your breath expecting that narrative to change.

Sears Closing Stores for Profits

Although unconfirmed by the company, Business Insider reports that SHLD will be closing 72 more stores by September, of which, 49 will be Kmart stores, 16 Sears locations and seven auto centers. This new round of store closures will be on top of the 180 locations the company earlier this year said it planned to close.

This scaling back of assets includes Sears having sold its Craftsman brand in January to Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK), which fetched an estimated $900 million in proceeds.

All told, Sears has had to run various garage sales, while gutting its businesses in an effort to shore up its crumbing balance sheet. But here’s the thing: In this case, the additional store closures would mean increased costs for the company. Not only does SHLD stand to absorb various closure-related charges, it also means that revenues will continue to decline.

While CEO Eddie Lampert continues to boast confidence that the company is heading in the right direction, even suggesting that Sears is operating much better than rivals such as Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), there has been no clear sign that he has a good grasp of this company. Lampert has even suggested that it’s the media’s fault for his company’s struggles. “Clearly we have our challenges. Every time people use the word bankruptcy, somebody who reads that doesn’t get past that word. It makes it very unfair for us, and it’s a very uneven playing field for us,” Reuters reported Lampert as saying.

To be fair, SHLD stock is not alone in its suffering. The company, albeit to a greater extent, is experiencing a retail shift that has taken down the likes of brick-and-mortar peers J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP) and Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M).

But investors who are betting against the Street are asking to get hurt. In the case of Sears, which has suffered a 12% decline in same-store sales since the start of the year and is losing massive amounts of money despite store closures, it’s only a matter of time before it gets put out of its misery.

Bottom Line for SHLD Stock

Over the past year, Sears stock has traded in a range between $5.50 to $18.18. And with the consensus price target being $4 — suggesting 70% downside — investors should take any spike in the price and run.

SHLD stock, which has not shown that it can escaped the death grip of Amazon, will struggle to stay above $5 in the next 12 to 18 months.

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