The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM – Get Rating) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $336.16, but opened at $350.00. Boston Beer shares last traded at $360.75, with a volume of 3,308 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on SAM. Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on shares of Boston Beer from $385.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Boston Beer from $331.00 to $314.00 in a research report on Friday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Boston Beer from $384.00 to $341.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and set a $251.00 price objective on shares of Boston Beer in a report on Friday, September 30th. Finally, MKM Partners cut their target price on shares of Boston Beer from $334.00 to $279.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boston Beer has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $353.43.

Boston Beer Trading Up 19.7 %

The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 187.98 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $344.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $345.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boston Beer

In other news, VP David L. Grinnell sold 425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.92, for a total transaction of $161,466.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at $612,051.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Carolyn L. O'boyle sold 101 shares of Boston Beer stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $35,350.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $866,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David L. Grinnell sold 425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.92, for a total value of $161,466.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $612,051.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 777 shares of company stock valued at $292,630. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boston Beer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC grew its position in Boston Beer by 58.1% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,292,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,701,000 after purchasing an additional 475,135 shares in the last quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Beer in the second quarter valued at about $36,356,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in Boston Beer during the first quarter worth about $38,859,000. Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd bought a new stake in Boston Beer during the first quarter worth about $28,589,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Boston Beer during the second quarter valued at approximately $18,690,000. 70.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Boston Beer

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The Boston Beer Company, Inc produces and sells alcohol beverages primarily in the United States. The company's flagship beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It offers various beers, hard ciders, and hard seltzers under the Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Truly Hard Seltzer, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head, Angel City, Coney Island, Concrete Beach brand names.

Further Reading

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