Nebius Adds 4% While Burry Doubles Down Against It

Nebius Group (NASDAQ: NBIS) traded at $241.51, up 4.15% on the day, after reports that Michael Burry had enlarged and added leverage to his bearish position against the stock, which is up 189% year to date.

Michael Burry's name still moves rooms. On Tuesday it did not move Nebius Group (NASDAQ: NBIS). The stock traded at $241.51 as of 16:38 GMT on Sept. 29, up 4.15% from the prior close of $231.88, with an intraday range of $233.61 to $246.97 — a session that ran directly against news that the investor best known for The Big Short has taken a larger and more leveraged bearish position against the company.

The gap between the bet and the tape is the story. Nebius is up 189% year to date, according to 24/7 Wall St, which reported the change in Burry's stance. A short seller who has been right in public before is pressing a position, and the market is bidding the stock up anyway.

What a bigger, more leveraged position actually means

The description matters more than the headline. A bearish position that is "larger and more leveraged" is not the same as simply selling more shares short. Leverage in this context usually means the exposure is expressed through options — typically puts — where a comparatively small outlay controls a much larger notional amount of stock. That structure changes the risk profile in two directions at once.

On the downside for the short, a leveraged options bet has an expiry. Time is an enemy in a way it is not for a plain short sale. A stock can grind sideways, or rise for a quarter and fall afterwards, and the position can still end worthless. On the upside, the same leverage means the payoff is disproportionate if the thesis lands inside the window.

That asymmetry is why traders should be careful reading a disclosed notional value as a measure of conviction in dollars at risk. The amount that can be lost on a put position is capped at the premium paid. The amount of stock it references can be many multiples of that. Without the specific strikes, expiries and contract counts, the honest answer is that the size of the bet as reported and the size of the capital committed are two different numbers.

Why the market is looking past it

A 189% year-to-date advance tells you what kind of shareholder base Nebius now has. Stocks that triple inside a year are owned overwhelmingly by momentum buyers and by funds that added on the way up, not by holders waiting for a catalyst to change their minds. That group does not typically sell on a third party's disclosure, however well known the third party is.

There is also a mechanical point. A highly shorted, high-beta AI infrastructure name with an active options market can rally precisely because a large bearish position exists. Dealers who sell puts hedge by shorting stock; if the stock rises and those hedges unwind, the buying pressure is real and has nothing to do with fundamentals. Tuesday's move — a push to $246.97 before settling back to $241.51, a pullback of about 2.2% from the intraday high — has the shape of a session where buyers arrived early and then met supply.

Burry's track record is the reason anyone cares, and it is also the reason to be careful. Being early is indistinguishable from being wrong until it isn't. The 2007 mortgage trade took time and drawdowns to work. Investors who treat a disclosed position as a trading signal are taking on the timing risk without the position sizing, the hedges or the information that sit behind it.

The AI infrastructure complex split three ways

Nebius did not carry the whole group with it. CoreWeave (CRWV) traded at 86.42, up 1.59% from a prior close of 85.07, but well off an intraday high of 90.48 — a fade of roughly 4.5% from the top of the range. Cloudflare (NET) went the other way, easing 0.66% to 351.65 from 353.99, inside a 348.01 to 356.72 band.

That dispersion is more informative than the direction of any one name. On a day when the S&P 500 tracker (NYSEARCA: SPY) was down 0.29% at $763.39 and the Dow tracker (NYSEARCA: DIA) fell 0.56% to $511.14, while the Nasdaq 100 tracker (NYSEARCA: QQQ) edged up 0.07% to $737.06, the broad market was not doing the work. Buyers were picking. Compute capacity and neocloud exposure got bid; edge networking did not.

For anyone holding the group, the read-through is that these names are no longer trading as a single AI basket. That is a change worth tracking, because it means individual news — a contract, a financing, a short thesis — has more power to move a single ticker than it did when the whole sector rose and fell together.

What would settle the argument

Three things would resolve the standoff, and none of them is a price move over a few sessions.

• Contracted revenue and its counterparties. The core bear case on every neocloud is that demand is concentrated among a handful of customers who are themselves spending borrowed money. Disclosure on contract duration and customer mix answers that directly.
• How the capacity is financed. GPU fleets are capital-intensive and depreciate fast. The mix of equity, debt and vendor financing determines whether a demand slowdown is a bad quarter or a solvency question.
• Whether the position grows again. A short seller who adds into a rising tape is either committed or eventually forced out. The next disclosure, in whichever direction, is the one to read.

Until then, the only verified fact is the divergence itself: a well-known bear got bigger, and on Sept. 29 the stock went up 4.15% regardless.

Key facts

• NBIS price: $241.51, +4.15% (as of 16:38 GMT, Sept. 29, 2026)
• Year to date: NBIS shares up 189%
• CoreWeave (CRWV): 86.42, +1.59%; day range 85.14–90.48
• Cloudflare (NET): 351.65, -0.66%; day range 348.01–356.72

Frequently asked questions

How much is Nebius stock up in 2026?

Nebius Group shares are up 189% year to date. On Sept. 29, 2026, the stock traded at $241.51 as of 16:38 GMT, a gain of 4.15% from the prior close of $231.88, with an intraday range of $233.61 to $246.97. The rally has continued despite a publicly reported bearish position against the company.

What has Michael Burry done with his Nebius position?

Burry has apparently hardened his stance against Nebius Group, with his bearish position described as larger and more leveraged than before. The specific structure, strikes and expiries have not been detailed in the reporting. Leverage in this context typically implies exposure expressed through options rather than a straightforward short sale of shares.

Why did Nebius stock rise if a famous short seller is betting against it?

Stocks that have tripled in a year tend to be held by momentum buyers who do not sell on a third party's disclosure. There are also mechanical effects: dealers hedging large options positions can generate buying pressure in the stock itself. Being early on a short thesis is also indistinguishable from being wrong until the thesis plays out.

How did CoreWeave and Cloudflare trade on the same day?

CoreWeave rose 1.59% to 86.42 from a prior close of 85.07, though it faded from an intraday high of 90.48. Cloudflare slipped 0.66% to 351.65 from 353.99, within a range of 348.01 to 356.72. The split shows AI-related names no longer moving as a single block.

What were the major indexes doing that session?

The broad market was mixed and slightly lower. The S&P 500 tracker SPY was down 0.29% at $763.39, the Dow tracker DIA fell 0.56% to $511.14, and the Nasdaq 100 tracker QQQ edged up 0.07% to $737.06. That means Nebius's 4.15% gain was stock-specific rather than a market-wide lift.

What should investors watch next in this standoff?

Three items settle it: disclosure on contracted revenue and customer concentration, the financing mix behind GPU capacity given how fast that equipment depreciates, and whether the bearish position is increased again or unwound. Short-term price moves over a few sessions will not resolve a thesis that depends on multi-quarter demand and funding conditions.

Sources

• Nebius Climbs 4% Despite Michael Burry’s Bigger Bearish Bet; CoreWeave Ticks Up, Cloudflare Slips — 24/7 Wall St

Photo: OrnaW · Pixabay Content License — source