Shareholders Sue Sam Adams Maker Over Misleading Seltzer Sales

BOSTON — A class action lawsuit filed against Boston Beer Co. Wednesday accuses the maker of Sam Adams of misleading shareholders about sales of its hard seltzer products.

After issuing an upbeat earnings report in April, Boston Beer issued guidance to investors on July 22 saying it had "overestimated the growth of the hard seltzer category" and it expected that error to reduce second quarter earnings below earlier projections. Last Wednesday, the company pulled the July guidance and warned it was going to write off a portion of its seltzer inventory.

Both announcements set off a sell off of the company's shares, with Boston Beer's share price falling 26 percent the day after the July announcement and 3.7 percent last Friday.

"Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis," the complaint filed in federal court in for the southern district of New York said. "As a result of Defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, and the precipitous decline in the market value of the Company’s securities, Plaintiff and other Class members have suffered significant losses and damages."