Vitamin Shoppe Trading Down 3% After Deutsche Bank Downgrade

Analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Vitamin Shoppe

from Buy to Hold on Thursday morning, saying that it would be "prudent to take profits after recent spike," as they see limited near-term catalysts for the stock. During Thursday's trading session, VSI shares were last trading down 3.24% to $51.13. The analysts noted that VSI is trading at a premium multiple to competitor GNC Holdings

and that the growing disparity between the two is not justified. VSI shares are trading at roughly 22.5x Deutsche Bank's 2013 EPS estimates compared to GNC which is trading at around 16.1x DB's 2013 EPS estimates. Given these valuations, the analysts argue that GNC has more room for multiple expansion while VSI is fairly valued. Despite the positive commentary on GNC relative to VSI, the former stock is also falling on Thursday. At last check, GNC shares had shed 2.37% to $37.83.