Nebius Is Still Up 136% This Year. It Is Time to Take Profits and Switch to Cloudflare, CoreWeave, or Snowflake?
Nebius has been one of 2026's most explosive AI infrastructure plays, but a rumor about a famous short-seller and a stretched valuation are rattling investors who are now eyeing the exits toward Cloudflare, CoreWeave, Snowflake, and Oracle.
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Shares of Nebius Group (NASDAQ:NBIS | NBIS Price Prediction) are down 10% to $197 in Thursday afternoon trading, though the stock is still up 136% year to date (YTD). The move follows unconfirmed community chatter about a possible short position, and it lands just days before Nebius’s scheduled Q2 2026 earnings report on August 12.
After a 136% year-to-date run, investors are weighing whether to take profits and rotate into other cloud names. Cheaper, profitable alternatives like Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) stand out against the high-multiple AI infrastructure pure-plays, while diversified ETF exposure offers another route for those wary of single-stock risk.
Rumor-Driven Selloff Meets a Rich Multiple
The immediate catalyst appears to be unconfirmed financial community speculation that Michael Burry of Scion Asset Management has taken a short position in Nebius stock. Short positions are not disclosed in regulatory filings, so the rumor currently cannot be verified, and it should be treated as community speculation rather than fact.
Setting the rumor aside, Nebius stock trades at a rich 76.42x trailing 12-month P/E ratio after its huge 2026 rally. That multiple leaves little room for error, and today’s slide shows how quickly sentiment can shift when a stock has run this hard.
The Bull and Bear Case on Nebius
The bull case for Nebius rests on AI cloud demand, a rapidly expanding capacity footprint, and hyperscaler-style contracts that give revenue visibility well into next year. That story has powered NBIS stock’s 136% YTD gain and made Nebius one of the year’s standout AI infrastructure winners.
The bear case is the flip side of the same coin. Nebius shares carry a 76.42x multiple, capital intensity is high, and rumor-driven volatility (like today’s 10% drop) can compound quickly. Investors sitting on large gains in their positions could consider trimming to lock in profits ahead of the August 12 report.
Cheaper Cloud Names, or Just Different Risks?
Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) is a popular rotation target thanks to its edge-cloud connectivity and security franchise. Cloudflare shares trade at $284 and are up 44% YTD, though the company isn’t profitable on a trailing 12-month basis, so it screens expensive on any earnings-based metric.
CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) is the closest peer to Nebius as an AI and GPU cloud pure-play. CoreWeave stock sits at $87, up 21% YTD, and also isn’t profitable on a trailing 12-month basis. Rotating from Nebius into CoreWeave swaps one AI infrastructure risk profile for a very similar one.
Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) offers a different flavor of cloud exposure through its data platform. Snowflake shares trade at $319 and are up 45% YTD, but the company remains unprofitable on trailing 12-month earnings, so SNOW stock also looks pricey through that lens.
Oracle Stands Out as the Profitable, Cheaper Option
Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) is the outlier in this group. Oracle stock trades at $144, is down 26% YTD, and carries a 24.69x P/E ratio on real trailing profits. For investors wanting cloud exposure without paying for a story stock, Oracle offers a profitable, cheaper alternative in their portfolios.
The tradeoff is that Oracle isn’t growing anywhere near as fast as the AI-cloud pure plays. Oracle stock’s recent decline reflects skepticism about capital commitments tied to large AI contracts, so the ORCL stock isn’t risk-free, either.
A Diversified Way to Play the Theme
For a broader approach, the First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (NASDAQ:SKYY) trades at $150.47, is up 14% YTD, and carries a P/E ratio of 33.54x. The SKYY ETF spreads exposure across dozens of cloud names, including Cloudflare, CoreWeave, Snowflake, and Oracle.
The fund’s diversification is real, and so is its concentration risk. It’s a focused sector ETF, so a broad cloud selloff could drag the whole basket down.
What to Watch
Nebius will report its Q2 2026 results before the open on August 12, and that report could set the tone for the entire AI-infrastructure trade. Investors can watch for whether today’s rumor-driven decline holds, how management addresses capital intensity, and whether the growth story still justifies a 76.42x multiple.
The takeaway on Nebius: shares have been a spectacular winner, but the risk-reward now looks more balanced. Trimming into strength, keeping their position sizes modest, and/or diversifying into a mix of Oracle shares and a broad cloud ETF may make sense for investors who don’t want to bet the entire cloud thesis on one high-multiple name.
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David Moadel is financial writer specializing in stocks, ETFs, options, precious metals, and Bitcoin. David has written well over 1,000 articles for leading online publications, helping investors understand markets, income strategies, and risk.
His work has appeared in The Motley Fool, InvestorPlace, U.S. News & World Report, TipRanks, ValueWalk, Benzinga, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, Finmasters, 24/7 Wall St., and others.
With a master’s degree in education, David has taught at the elementary, high school, and college levels. That teaching background shapes his writing style: clear, educational, and practical. David has also built a loyal social-media audience by providing trustworthy financial content on YouTube, X/Twitter, and StockTwits.
