Michael Burry Swapped Shorts for Micron Puts Struck Near Half the Share Price
Michael Burry just swapped unlimited-horizon short positions for expiring put contracts on Micron, accepting a hard deadline to be right before a stock up 550% in a year reports earnings in hours.
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Micron (NASDAQ:MU | MU Price Prediction) shares sit at $1,065.08 after rising 1.05% in the September 29, 2026 session. That was a calm response to news that Michael Burry, the investor made famous by The Big Short, now holds puts against the stock.
Burry told subscribers on September 28, 2026, that put options had replaced his short positions. His Micron contracts expire in June with a strike of roughly $500.
A put gains value when the stock falls. The strike is the level the stock must fall below for the put to pay off at expiration, and buying puts struck this far below the market is a leveraged position on a steep decline.
Timing is the issue, because Micron reports after the close on September 30, 2026, following a year-to-date gain of 273.41% and a one-year gain of 550.89%.
Burry Traded Open-Ended Shorts for a Deadline
Burry wrote, “As of today, put options completely replaced my short positions.” Weekend research convinced him “the bubble in AI may burst sooner than later,” and “Fundamentally, I am moving timelines up. As such, I want more leverage.”
A short sale has no expiration date. A put expires worthless unless the stock falls below the strike in time, but limits the loss to the premium paid.
He has bought leverage and accepted a deadline. Being early looks exactly like being wrong, and his record includes one famous housing call plus several bearish calls that arrived early. Riding a mania and knowing when to leave it are two different skills, something we spent a whole free handbook on here: The Bubble Survivor’s Handbook.
A Position Against AI Spending Broadly
He also bought puts on Nebius (NASDAQ:NBIS), NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR), the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX), Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), plus Nasdaq-100 index puts, while covering his CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) short and opening a bearish position on MetLife (NYSE:MET).
Micron is the memory expression of that view. The bear case needs high-bandwidth memory pricing to roll over, since valuation alone does not reduce a supplier’s earnings.
What Micron Must Clear on September 30
Thirty-one analysts expect EPS of $31.35 on revenue of $50.97 billion for the quarter ended August 31, 2026, against guidance midpoints of $50 billion and $31.00.
The following quarter sets a higher bar, with consensus at $34.95 in EPS on $56.85 billion in revenue.
Barchart noted options pricing showed a “very strong bearish skew,” meaning traders paid more for downside protection than upside exposure.
Most of Wall Street Sits Across From Burry
Analysts count 9 strong buys, 35 buys, 4 holds and 0 sells, with a consensus target of $1,520.76. JPMorgan is Overweight with a $1,540 target and says Micron has “multiple beat-and-raise levers still in play.” Baird raised its target to $1,520 from $1,280.
Management said in June that 14 of its 16 take-or-pay Strategic Customer Agreements carry about $100 billion in total revenue at minimum contract prices, with price floors through the term.
Should You Buy or Sell MU Stock
Micron trades at 7 times forward earnings. Burry’s puts need a slide to about $500 by June, a pricing collapse those contracted floors were written to hold out.
For holders of NVIDIA or a semiconductor fund, Micron compounds the same AI exposure Burry is targeting, which concentrates risk in a sharp drawdown.
The test arrives on September 30, 2026. A soft outlook would favor Burry. A November-quarter outlook below the $56.85 billion consensus, or evidence of hyperscaler spending digestion, would do so, while management’s June view that supply remains tight beyond calendar 2027 helps the bulls until guidance says otherwise.
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Omor Ibne Ehsan is a writer at 24/7 Wall St. He is a self-taught investor with a focus on growth, cyclical, and dividend equities that have strong fundamentals, value, and long-term potential. He also has an interest in high-risk, high-reward investments such as penny stocks.
