Nutritional-supplement company Herbalife Ltd. saw its shares HLF, -1.65% soar more than 7% Wednesday afternoon after a report indicated that its fiercest critic had unraveled a massive bet that the company would see its value fall to zero. CNBC on Wednesday reported that Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital exited its Herbalife short position, according to CNBC's Scott Wapner. Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management LP made a bet against the company five years ago, accusing it of running a pyramid scheme. The company has steadfastly denied the allegation. And the bet that it would collapse in value has been dead wrong. In fact, shares of Herbalife are up 35% so far in 2018, compared with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -2.98% , S&P 500 index SPX, -2.51% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -2.14% , which are up between 2% and 6% so far this year. In fact, Herbalife shares are up 130% over the past five years, according to FactSet data. Ackman first shorted the stock at around $47 factoring in the cost of the wager, according to The Wall Street Journal. Ackman had said Pershing Square would sell out if the wager got too risky, but previously pledged to take his crusade "to the end of the Earth."