He investor Michael Burry became famous after predicting the collapse of the housing market in 2008 and was played by actor Christian Bale in “The Big Short” from 2015. The film, which gained recognition as one of the best about the world’s Wall Street, highlighted Burry’s bet “huge“against the housing market by purchasing collateralized debt obligations, a form of insurance that would pay out large sums if certain pools of mortgages collapsed.
Burry didn’t do anything close to that in the first part of 2024. The renowned financial guru is now taking a more traditional path with his Saratoga, California-based hedge fund. Scion Asset Managementbuying shares of established stocks and exiting non-productive puts.
Famous for his technical analysis of market trends and his favoritism for going against the grain when other investors do the opposite, here they are Burry’s most recent moves that, They point out something like the change in perspective in the first quarter of the year.
Citigroup
Scion purchased 100,000 Citigroup shares with a total market value of $5.1 million, adding a new position representing 5.4% of the portfolio.
From the outset, it seems that Burry adds another winner to his portfolio, as the stock climbs 15.5% in 2024 until March 19. It also offers shareholders a good earnings story, with a future dividend yield of 3.6%.
Other acquisitions
Some other major acquisitions in Scion’s portfolio in the fourth quarter included 65,000 shares of CVS Health Corp. (CVS) with a market value of US$5.1 million, 35,000 shares of Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) worth US$4.9 million and 30,000 shares of Amazon (AMZN) worth US$4.6 million.
Massive sale of shares by Burry
Burry likes to make big moves, and his stock sale in the fourth quarter of last year was no exception. He sold 100% of his interests in the following:
- Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. (HPP): Real Estate, 2.7% previous portfolio weighting, sold all 400,000 shares.
- Stellantis NV (STLA): Consumer Discretionary, 7.7% previous weight, sold all 400,000 shares.
- Euronav NV (EURN): Sea Shipping, 4.2% weighting, sold all 250,000 shares.
- Crescent Energy Co. (CRGY): Energy, 2.6% weight, sold all 200,000 shares.
According to the form 13F of the fourth quarter of 2023 of Scion filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Burry closed the year by closing one of his most notable positions: a big bet against the semiconductor sector.
Specifically, Burry trimmed his losses on a short position in BlackRock Inc’s flagship semiconductor fund, iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), which previously accounted for nearly 48% of the portfolio. Scion had purchased put options worth $47.4 million in face value (the total notional value of a financial security position). The fourth-quarter 13F showed that Scion has gotten rid of those options.
Burry doesn’t typically talk much about specific portfolio plays, but Wall Street analysts interpreted his buying of the puts as a bet that semiconductor stocks They were overvalued and the prices of the sector’s papers would fall, did you see it?
It’s also worth mentioning that Burry has a history of betting against high-flying tech stocks and funds. He has also bet against Cathie Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) and Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. (TSLA).
But with the BlackRock ETF soaring over the past year and in positive territory since Scion’s latest 13F was released, Burry’s involvement against SOXX seems like a mistake.
Strengthening Two Plays in China
Scion also added 50% to its position in the China-based e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) at the end of last year, going from 50,000 shares to 75,000 valued at US$5.8 million in mid-March.
Burry also added 60% to the fund’s position in Chinese retailer JD.com Inc. (JD), going from 125,000 shares to 200,000 shares in the fourth quarter of 2023, for a total market value of $5.8 millions. JD is one of China’s largest retailers, outperforming in each of the last four quarters.
Alibaba and JD.com represent the most prominent positions in Burry’s portfolio, with 6.15% and 6.11% of the holdings, respectively.
Source: Ambito
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