Will Mounting Debt and Plunging Sales Force Sears (SHLD, $0.59) Into a Bankruptcy Filing?
Sears Holding , once a bustling retail chain in the U.S., might be preparing its bankruptcy filing, according to a Wall Street Journal report that cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the company has hired the services of M-III Partners to navigate the bankruptcy proceedings, as the retail giant is saddled with $134 million debt due on Oct. 15. Sears has had troubles meeting its debt obligations for a while, even as CEO Eddie Lampert drove several asset liquidations.
Hundreds of Sears and Kmart stores were shuttered down in recent years, amid plunging sales. As of latest quarter, the company has roughly 900 Sears and Kmart stores, compared with more than 4,000 when it merged with Kmart in 2005. Sears has apparently failed to catch up with the e-commerce boom spearheaded by Amazon coupled with traditional player Walmart’s expansion. According to some analysts, the company would need to generate more than $1 billion a year to keep operating - a target that looks too far off for the retailer to meet. Sears has burned through $1.8 billion in cash in its operations during 2017 alone.
Its CEO Eddie Lampert has, over time, tried to salvage the company by chipping in more than $1 billion into the retailer when other sources dried up. This time, if Lampert or other sources are unable to extricate Sears out of its debt troubles and dwindling business, the company could file for a bankruptcy this week, as some reports seem to suggest.
Contributor
Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.
SHLD in downward trend: price may drop because broke its higher Bollinger Band on August 04, 2026
SHLD broke above its upper Bollinger Band on August 04, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options. The A.I.dvisor looked at 33 similar instances where the stock broke above the upper band. In of the 33 cases the stock fell afterwards. This puts the odds of success at .
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bearish Trend Analysis
The 10-day RSI Indicator for SHLD moved out of overbought territory on August 19, 2026. This could be a bearish sign for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 34 similar instances where the indicator moved out of overbought territory. In of the 34 cases, the stock moved lower in the following days. This puts the odds of a move lower at .
The Momentum Indicator moved below the 0 level on August 20, 2026. You may want to consider selling the stock, shorting the stock, or exploring put options on SHLD as a result. In of 49 cases where the Momentum Indicator fell below 0, the stock fell further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence Histogram (MACD) for SHLD turned negative on August 20, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to turn lower in the coming weeks. Traders may want to sell the stock or buy put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 27 similar instances when the indicator turned negative. In of the 27 cases the stock turned lower in the days that followed. This puts the odds of success at .
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where SHLD declined for three days, the price rose further in of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
Bullish Trend Analysis
The Stochastic Oscillator is in the oversold zone. Keep an eye out for a move up in the foreseeable future.
SHLD moved above its 50-day moving average on July 30, 2026 date and that indicates a change from a downward trend to an upward trend.
The 10-day moving average for SHLD crossed bullishly above the 50-day moving average on August 03, 2026. This indicates that the trend has shifted higher and could be considered a buy signal. In of 5 past instances when the 10-day crossed above the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where SHLD advanced for three days, in of 227 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In of 273 cases where SHLD Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are .
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