Michael Burry, the Scion Asset Management founder known for “The Big Short,” is adding to his short book despite losses. In his Substack post “Trading Post August 13, 2026,” Burry disclosed that he pressed his bet against Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU | MU Price Prediction) as the stock climbed toward $1,000, and rolled his puts on the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) up in strike and further out in time.
Burry stated that his goal was “to reduce gross exposure, and to free up some cash, while maintaining the short bias.” He acknowledged being “roughly breakeven” on his shorts, “but the situation is tipping into a loss position across the short portfolio as the market, and certain stocks, rallied.”
Moreover, Burry framed the repositioning as preparation for a “larger fall” in the market. Micron stock has soared 238% year to date, putting the Burry squarely in the path of the AI memory trade.
The Micron Short Gets Bigger
Micron shares are trading near $966, up 671% over the past year. Micron’s fiscal Q3 2026 revenue hit $41.5 billion, up 346% year over year, with a GAAP gross margin of 84.6% and seven consecutive EPS beats.
CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated that “DRAM and NAND industry demand continues to significantly exceed industry supply” and that Micron expects tight conditions to persist beyond calendar 2027. Micron guided Q4 FY2026 revenue to $50 billion plus or minus $1 billion and non-GAAP EPS to $31 plus or minus $1.
The bear case has merit. Memory is historically cyclical, and Micron’s Q4 capex is guided near $10 billion. MU stock trades at a forward P/E ratio of 5.55x, reflecting a market pricing peak earnings, with a beta of 2.213.
The QQQ Roll and the Semiconductor Distinction
Burry rolled his January 2027 QQQ ETF puts struck in the mid-to-high $500s into a June 2027 position struck in the mid-to-high $600s, now 6% of his portfolio. QQQ shares, which track the NASDAQ 100 index, are up 19% year to date, so the roll resets a hedge that had gone against him.
A key nuance: Burry closed his put options on the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX), a losing trade, while keeping his short position in the shares themselves. That semiconductor ETF short remains his largest bearish position at 7% of the portfolio, even though SOXX shares are up 80% year to date. The same logic applies to Oracle (NYSE:ORCL): Burry said Oracle’s puts are too expensive, so he holds the short position in the shares.
What He Covered, What He Spared
Burry covered his Tesla short after a decent gain. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock is down 28% year to date. He also covered his Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) short and trimmed his Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) short by 25%. Burry stated: “Quick sizable short sale gains are gift horses in this market.”
He kept his NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) puts, which he said he “spared.” NVDA stock is up 21% year to date, and PLTR shares are down 1%.
Burry trimmed his long positions across the board, bringing cash to 12%. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment reads neutral on NVIDIA stock, bullish on Palantir stock, bearish on Micron stock, and neutral on Tesla stock.
Is He Asking for Trouble?
Pressing a short into a stock that’s up roughly 240% year to date is high-conviction contrarianism. If Burry is right, long-dated Micron puts could pay off asymmetrically; if the AI memory cycle continues, the losses could compound quickly.
Investors can watch for signs of memory pricing rolling over, HBM4 supply catching up with demand, or deterioration in hyperscaler capex commitments. Micron’s analyst target price of $1,501.98 sits well above where MU stock trades today, and 40 of the 45 covering analysts rate the stock a Buy or Strong Buy.
Burry has been early before, and being early can look identical to being wrong for a long time. Position sizing, more than conviction, can separate a bad trade from a devastating loss.
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