Michael Burry's Latest Monster Gamble: 'Big Short' Investor Bets $47M Against 2023's High-Flying Sector

Michael Burry, the renowned “Big Short” investor and Scion Asset Management founder, has again made a bold market move, reminiscent of his wagers on the subprime crash in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

Contrary to his recent closure of significant short positions on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, previously detailed by Benzinga, Burry’s new strategy unveiled in the latest 13F filing for Q3 2023 took a different turn.

He opened a massive short bet against one of the best performing industries so far this year.

Burry Bets Against Soaring Semiconductor Stocks

The hedge fund manager placed a $47 million wager on the decline of the semiconductor sector.

This strategy involves purchasing put options on the iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX, a fund that includes leading chipmakers such as Nvidia Corp. NVDA, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD, Broadcom Inc. AVGO, Intel Corp. INTC, and Texas Instruments Inc. TXN.

Put options allow investors to profit from declines in stock or ETF prices, which means that Burry is betting that the semiconductor fund’s value will decrease.

The semiconductor sector, tracked by the SOXX ETF, has seen a remarkable year-to-date growth of 47%, slightly surpassing the broader tech market’s Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ, which is up by 45%.

Since the start of the third quarter, the semiconductor gauge has risen nearly 7%.

Burry’s daring ventures don’t stop there. He has also invested in 2,500 put options on Booking Holdings Inc. BKNG.

Data from WhalesWisdom.com highlights this significant short position on the leading online travel agency, which has seen its shares surge by 56% this year, placing it among the top 25 performers in the S&P 500 Index.

Read now: ‘Big Short’ Investor Michael Burry’s Equity Bets Reap Rewards As S&P 500, Nasdaq Plunge

Image created using artificial intelligence with MidJourney.