Michael Burry Raises Alibaba Stake, Cuts Stock Portfolio in Half

By Investor Empires On Aug 14, 2024

(Bloomberg) — Michael Burry, the hedge fund manager famous for his 2008 bet against the U.S. housing market and subsequent portrayal in the book and movie “The Big Short,” increased his stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. while halving his overall stock portfolio in the second quarter.

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Scion Asset Management, an investment firm owned by Perry, reported an $11.2 million investment in Alibaba in the quarter, up from $9 million in the first quarter after adding 30,000 shares, according to the company’s latest 13F filing on Wednesday. Shift4 Payments Inc. was the company’s second-largest holding, with a total net worth of about $7.3 million, as the company began a new investment in the stock, buying 100,000 shares during the quarter, according to the filing.

As part of its portfolio restructuring, Scion has built new positions in various industries including financial services, healthcare and commercial real estate. The new stakes in Shift4 Payments, Molina Healthcare Inc. and Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. are valued at more than $5.5 million each. The company also added positions in Olaplex Holdings Inc. and BioAtla Inc.

Scion exited several stakes including HCA Healthcare Inc., Citigroup Inc., Block Inc., Cigna Group and Advance Auto Parts Inc. and reduced its stakes in both JD.com and luxury goods retailer RealReal Inc. In total, the company holds stakes in 10 stocks worth a total of more than $52 million — down nearly 50% from the previous quarter.

During the first quarter, the company doubled its investments in Chinese tech giants JD.com Inc. and Alibaba, after divesting from their U.S.-listed shares in the second quarter of 2023.

Wednesday is the deadline for institutional investors, including hedge funds and pension funds, to report their U.S. stock holdings to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Since the data tracks holdings through the end of June, it’s possible that funds have shifted their positions over the past month and a half.