Michael Burry pressed his short against Micron Technology and rolled his QQQ ETF puts further out in time, betting on a broader market decline. The Scion Asset Management founder disclosed the moves in a Substack post even as Micron shares keep climbing and most analysts stay bullish on the stock.
Michael Burry, the Scion Asset Management founder known for "The Big Short," is adding to his short book despite losses. In a Substack post titled "Trading Post August 13, 2026," Burry disclosed that he pressed his bet against Micron Technology as the stock climbed toward $1,000. He also rolled his puts on the Invesco QQQ Trust up in strike and further out in time. Burry framed the repositioning as preparation for a larger fall in the market.
The Micron short gets bigger
Micron shares trade near $966, up 671% over the past year and up 238% year to date. The chip maker's fiscal Q3 2026 revenue hit $41.5 billion, up 346% year over year, with an 84.6% GAAP gross margin and seven consecutive EPS beats. Micron guided Q4 FY2026 revenue to $50 billion plus or minus $1 billion, with non-GAAP EPS at $31 plus or minus $1.
Yet the bear case has merit. Memory is historically cyclical, and Micron's Q4 capex is guided near $10 billion while the stock trades at a forward P/E of 5.55x, with a beta of 2.213.
The QQQ roll and the semiconductor distinction
Burry rolled his January 2027 QQQ puts, struck in the mid-to-high $500s, into a June 2027 short position struck in the mid-to-high $600s, now 6% of his portfolio. This short position hedge had gone against him, and QQQ shares are up 19% year to date.
However, Burry closed his puts on the iShares Semiconductor ETF, 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 the ETF's shares are up 80% year to date. He applied the same logic to Oracle, saying its puts are too expensive, so he holds only the short position in the shares.
What he covered, what he spared
Burry covered his Tesla short after a decent gain; Tesla stock is down 28% year to date. He also covered his Applied Materials short and trimmed his Caterpillar short by 25%. According to Burry: "Quick sizable short sale gains are gift horses in this market."
He kept his Nvidia and Palantir puts, which he said he "spared." Nvidia stock is up 21% year to date, and Palantir shares are down 1%. Burry also trimmed his long positions across the board, bringing cash to 12% of the portfolio.
Is he asking for trouble?
Pressing a short into a stock that's up roughly 240% year to date is high-conviction contrarianism. Micron's analyst target price of $1,501.98 sits well above where the stock trades today, and 40 of the 45 covering analysts rate it a Buy or Strong Buy.
Burry has been early before, and being early can look identical to being wrong for a long time.
Source: 24/7 Wall St.
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