Investing.com - Michael Burry still holds a bearish bet against Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), dismissing as "fake news" reports on July 18 that he had fully exited his short position. "This is fake news. I covered half because winning," the investor wrote on X, pushing back against coverage from outlets that had declared his six-month Oracle bear campaign over.

Oracle shares are a direct focal point: the stock touched a fresh 52-week low of $121.50 on Friday, July 18. That level sits roughly 63% below Oracle's all-time high of $345.72, a collapse that has made Burry's trade one of the more consequential short calls of 2026.

In a Substack post, Burry elaborated: he sold half of his Oracle January 2027 puts, which were struck in the low-to-mid $100s, because the position had grown "too big." He added that he does not "fall in love with options trades that go well" and was explicit that he retained meaningful exposure: "I maintained short exposure here by retaining half." Media reports appear to have misread that partial trim as a full exit, prompting his public correction.

Burry originally disclosed the Oracle put positions in a January 2026 Substack post, shortly after shutting down Scion Asset Management in November 2025. His bear thesis centered on Oracle's aggressive AI infrastructure spending, what he viewed as questionable financing, and heavy customer concentration around OpenAI. That thesis has since received institutional backing: S&P Global Ratings cut Oracle's credit rating to BBB- on July 9, one notch above junk status, citing extreme concentration risk from OpenAI, which represents roughly half of Oracle's $638 billion backlog, alongside a projected free cash flow deficit of $42 billion in fiscal 2027.

The rating cut crystallized what had been a qualitative concern into a balance-sheet headline.

Retail sentiment tells its own story. Following Burry's X post, Stocktwits data tracked by Yahoo Finance showed ORCL sentiment registering as "extremely bullish" with "extremely high" message volume — a sign that retail traders are interpreting the clarification as a bullish signal, even though Burry's core position remains short. That divergence between Burry's intent and retail interpretation is a notable dynamic heading into the week.

Burry's Oracle trade sits alongside other active positions. He holds put options on Nvidia and had partially exited a Palantir short by June 2026. The Oracle position remains one of his most publicly documented and, given the stock's decline from its peak, his most profitable on paper.

Looking ahead, Oracle has disclosed plans for an additional $20 billion equity issuance later in calendar year 2026. The offering would dilute existing shareholders at a price well below last year's highs, potentially weighing further on the stock. If that issuance proceeds while the credit-downgrade narrative remains intact, the remaining half of Burry's January 2027 puts would have additional time to play out. Oracle has not commented on Burry's continued short exposure or the credit-downgrade narrative ahead of its next scheduled earnings.