Predictor of 2008 housing bubble places big bet against Palantir, NVIDIA

Michael Burry, the investor immortalized in “The Big Short,” is signaling caution on the economy, shorting marquee artificial intelligence stocks while taking upside in energy and pharmaceuticals

Michael Burry hit the pop-culture spotlight in 2015, when Christian Bale’s turn in The Big Short dramatized his contrarian bet against subprime mortgages that presaged the 2008 financial crisis and made him seen as something of a wizard in financial circles.

Now the The Big Short investor is signaling renewed trouble for the US economy, taking bearish positions against several of the companies that have. up until now, powered much of America’s growth.

What the filings show

A Nerve.News review of Scien Asset Management’s latest Form 13F shows Michael Burry building sizable bearish option exposure to prominent artificial-intelligence equities while taking bullish calls in energy and pharmaceuticals and keeping a handful of targeted long stakes. 

The filing lists put options equivalent to 1,000,000 shares of Nvidia and 5,000,000 shares of Palantir, with reported values of about $186.6 million and $912.1 million, respectively, alongside call options on 2,500,000 shares of Halliburton valued at $61.5 million and 6,000,000 shares of Pfizer valued at $152.9 million.

Burry’s track record

Burry is a physician-turned investor best known for founding Scion Capital in 2000 and earning outsized profits by shorting subprime mortgage securities via credit default swaps ahead of the 2008 financial crisis

After closing Scion Capital in 2008, Burry later launched Scion Asset Management, continuing a contrarian, value-driven approach that has included early attention to underpriced or overlooked assets and periodic public warnings about market excess.

Palantir’s Alex Karp responds

Palantir chief executive Alex Karp, who has never been shy with his words for short sellers, took to CNBC to respond to this new wave of short selling: