Consequently, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Millennium Management established the largest position in Boston Beer Company Inc (NYSE:SAM). Millennium Management had $6.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management also initiated a $4.8 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new SAM investors: Neil Chriss’ Hutchin Hill Capital, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, and Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP.
Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Boston Beer Company Inc (NYSE:SAM) but similarly valued. We will take a look at WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC), Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI), Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA), and Retail Opportunity Investments Corp (NASDAQ:ROIC). This group of stocks’ market valuations resemble SAM’s market valuation.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| WCC | 22 | 119988 | 0 |
| AWI | 27 | 1263917 | -2 |
| ZNGA | 28 | 476683 | 8 |
| ROIC | 8 | 26035 | 1 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 21 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $472 million. That figure was $278 million in SAM’s case. Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Retail Opportunity Investments Corp (NASDAQ:ROIC) is the least popular one with only 8 bullish hedge fund positions. Boston Beer Company Inc (NYSE:SAM) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard ZNGA might be a better candidate to consider taking a long position in.
Disclosure: None
