Michael Burry, known for calling the subprime mortgage crisis, picked up a slew of stocks in the fourth quarter, including two Chinese internet giants, according to a new regulatory filing. The famed investor bought $9.3 million worth of mortgage data vendor Black Knight last quarter, as well as $5.3 million worth of Coherent , a manufacturer of optical materials and semiconductors. Burry also bought into a duo of Chinese e-commerce leaders — Alibaba and JD.com — during the fourth quarter. He seemed to also have bet on a revival of the travel industry, investing in casino operator MGM Resorts and SkyWest , a regional airline company. He also added a stake in Wolverine World Wide , a footwear manufacturer based in Rockford, Michigan. Burry, who now manages hedge fund Scion Asset Management, shot to fame by betting against mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 crisis. Burry was depicted in Michael Lewis' book "The Big Short" and the subsequent Oscar-winning movie of the same name. Money managers with more than $100 million in assets under management are required to disclose long positions with the Securities and Exchange Commission 45 days after a quarter ends. Active traders such as Burry could have already changed their positions by the time filings come out. It's also unclear if Burry took any bearish bets last quarter, as short positions are not disclosed in these reports. He didn't have any put options in the latest filing. The widely followed investor has been negative about the markets throughout the past year. He once drew parallels between today's market environment and that of 2008, saying it's like "watching a plane crash." Most recently, he tweeted out "sell" a day before the Federal Reserve's rate-hike decision. During the last quarter, he trimmed his position in Qurate Retail , the media company that owns home shopping networks QVC and HSN. He also decreased his stake in private prison operator GEO Group last quarter, although it was still Burry's biggest long position at the end of December.
