Michael Burry has voiced sharp criticism of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. shares, labeling them as overpriced, and revealed that he has recently liquidated his stake in the Chinese tech behemoth. The move is part of his strategy to channel funds into a “large” position in the rival online marketplace JD.com Inc.
“I planned to move most of it back after a month or two. No longer,” Burry stated in a Substack post, elaborating that Alibaba’s stock would need to “fall by half for me to get interested again.”
The remarks from the founder of Scion Capital Management, who gained widespread recognition through The Big Short for his prescient bets against the US housing market before the 2008 global financial crisis, come on the heels of Alibaba’s announcement of a plan to raise roughly HK$80 billion ($10.2 billion) through a share sale intended to finance its artificial intelligence investments. This offering is set to become the largest follow-on share sale by any company in Hong Kong’s history.
“I cannot bless share issuances,” he commented, expressing his expectation that the company’s return on invested capital will likely keep trending downward.
Alibaba reported a 75% profit decline for the quarter ending in June, driven by a significant increase in AI-related capital expenditures. This development has further unsettled investors regarding the potential returns from the Chinese tech sector.
The company’s American Depositary Receipts have dropped 18.6% year-to-date, including an 8.6% fall on Friday. Its shares listed in Hong Kong are also down 13.9% so far this year.
Earlier in April, Burry had disclosed his acquisition of stakes in both JD and Alibaba, while also adding to his put options against Nvidia. On Sunday, the Chinese firm separately confirmed the pricing of its HK$80 billion placement of new shares in Hong Kong at HK$112.70 per share, a discount to its Friday closing price of HK$123 on the Hong Kong market.