Michael Burry says he's been buying GameStop shares, and it's not a bet on more meme-stock mania

• Michael Burry says he's been buying GameStop stock, and not for its meme-like potential.
• Burry's had previously sole GameStop ahead of the 2021 short-squeeze.
• The famed short-seller says he believes in GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen's leadership and long-term strategy.

Michel Burry says he's betting on the market's most famous meme stock.

The investor, best known for his role in Michael Lewis's financial crisis saga "The Big Short," said on Monday that he's been buying shares of GameStop, one of the original and most famous meme stocks.

Burry announced his position in a post on his Substack, Cassandra Unchained, on Monday. It sent shares of the video game retailer up as much as 6%.

Rather than betting on a new bout of meme-stock mania to send the stock higher, Burry said his investment is a long-term play. This isn't Burry's first time dabbling in the OG meme stock. In an earlier Substack post, he discussed his decision to offload his position in the company weeks before the short squeeze of 2021. In his follow-up on Monday, Burry revealed he owns GameStop again and has been buying shares recently and that he sees significant growth potential with Ryan Cohen as CEO.

"I expect I am buying at what may soon be 1x tangible book value / 1x net asset value," he said. "And getting a young Ryan Cohen investing and deploying the company's capital and cash flows. Perhaps for the next 50 years."

That may sound like a long window for growth, particularly given GameStop's history as a meme stock that's often driven more by hype than fundamentals. Burry acknowledged that his bet may come across as unorthodox but backed it up with more analysis in his post.

"That is not a common occurrence in the U.S. stock market today," he wrote. "With the downside protected by its tangible asset value, being long GameStop is almost as asymmetric as it gets these days in U.S. common stocks."

Meanwhile, Burry said he sees solid potential for a turnaround under Cohen. The CEO and founder of online pet supply company Chewy is a popular figure among retail traders.

"I am not counting on a short squeeze to realize long-term value," Burry said.

"I believe in Ryan. I like the setup, the governance, the strategy as I see it. I am willing to hold long-term, and I am excited to see where this goes. I am fifteen years his senior, but not too old to be patient."

Burry's bullishness spurred a jump in GameStop on Monday, though it didn't spill over to other meme stocks. Data from retail trading activity platform ApeWisdom shows that retail traders have been highly focused on GameStop since Burry announced his position, but other favorites like AMC and Koss haven't entered the spotlight.