8 Stocks Michael Burry Was Betting on Before Cryptic ‘Sell’ Warning

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  • Michael Burry issued an ominous “sell” message in late January, although his fourth-quarter activity seems to contradict this warning.
  • The fund manager initiated stakes in seven new companies during the quarter.
  • Burry’s largest position is still Geo Group (GEO).
A stock trader checking technical markers of a stock on a computer screen representing value stocks
Source: solarseven / Shutterstock

On Jan. 31, hedge fund manager Michael Burry tweeted out a single word that conveyed an ominous and cryptic message: “Sell.” Shortly after, the Scion Asset Management founder deleted his tweet. Given his track record of deleted tweets, that wasn’t all too shocking. Since Jan. 31, the S&P 500 has risen by about 1% while the Nasdaq 100 has risen by about 4%.

Yesterday marked the deadline for institutional investors to file a quarterly update depicting their 13F holdings. Scion’s 13F filing revealed that Burry actually initiated stakes in seven new companies during the fourth quarter, contrary to his “sell” tweet. At the same time, Michael Burry also completely sold out of Aerojet Rocketdyne (NYSE:AJRD), CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW), Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) and Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILAK).

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the holdings in Michael Burry’s Scion portfolio.

8 Stocks That Micheal Burry Is Betting On

Geo Group (NYSE:GEO) remains Burry’s largest position, although he reduced his position by 47%, or 956,023 shares, during the quarter. As of Q4, GEO accounts for 25.02% of Scion’s 13F portfolio. The company operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in prisons. Burry held shares of the company as his only stake during Q2 2022.

Burry’s second-largest position is Black Knight (NYSE:BKI) with a 19.90% allocation, followed by Coherent (NASDAQ:COHR) with a 11.31% allocation. Scion initiated new stakes in both companies during the quarter. Black Knight provides technology and services to mortgage and real estate industries. Meanwhile, Coherent provides laser-based technology for a variety of industries.

Next up is Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) with a 9.46% allocation and JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) with a 9.05% allocation. These two companies are probably the most recognizable in Scion’s portfolio and are involved in e-commerce in Asian countries. BABA stock and JD stock were new stakes for the hedge fund as well.

Finally, Scion’s last three largest positions are footwear manufacturer Wolverine World Wide (NYSE:WWW) at 8.36%, gambling and casino company MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) at 7.21% and retail brand company Qurate Retail (NASDAQ:QRTEA) at 5.25%. According to WhaleWisdom, Scion initiated positions in WWW and MGM during Q4 and QRTEA during Q3 2022.

It’s worth noting that a 13F filing does not cover all of a hedge fund’s positions. For example, outright short positions or credit default swaps are not required to be disclosed through this filing. As of Dec. 31, Scion had a 13F assets under management of $46.53 million.

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On the date of publication, Eddie Pan held a long position in BABA. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2023/02/8-stocks-michael-burry-was-betting-on-before-cryptic-sell-warning/.

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