The Blubber

Michael Burry’s Scion has purchased puts on 100,000 shares of Blackrock's iShares Semiconductor ETF with a nominal value of $47 million.


In the most recent update on his portfolio, Michael Burry revealed that he closed his bets against the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 in the last quarter. However, the founder of Scion Asset Management initiated a new position by betting against semiconductor stocks, according to the latest Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

During the second quarter, Scion Asset Management purchased bearish put options on the SPDR S&P 500 and Invesco QQQ, but those positions were liquidated in the most recent filing. Instead, the firm acquired puts on 100,000 shares of BlackRock's iShares Semiconductor ETF, with a nominal value of $47 million. Notably, this ETF includes Nvidia, the graphics-chip specialist, as its third-largest holding.

Last quarter, Burry consolidated his firm's portfolio by reducing the number of positions from 33 to 13. This move resulted in more than halving the total value (excluding options) from $111 million to $44 million.

Burry, renowned for predicting and profiting from the mid-2000s housing bubble, is known for his periodic overhauls of his portfolio every three months. Despite this usual strategy, he increased stakes in companies such as Euronav, Hudson Pacific Properties, Nexstar Media, Safe Bulkers, Star Bulk Carriers, and Stellantis in the last quarter. He also offloaded other positions and reduced bets on Crescent Energy and The RealReal. Notably, he entered new positions by purchasing shares of Alibaba and Booking.com, while also initiating put options.

Burry has also made contrarian moves by betting against Tesla and Cathie Wood's Ark Innovation fund in recent years. Known for his bearish outlook and cautionary predictions, he warned about the "greatest speculative bubble of all time in all things" in the summer of 2021 and cautioned investors in meme stocks and cryptocurrencies about the potential for the "mother of all crashes."