John H Lewis, Osmium Partners Appoint Director To Vitacost.com, Inc.(VITC)’s Board

John H Lewis, the manager of Osmium Partners, has gone activist on Vitacost.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:VITC). According to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company has agreed to nominate and appoint an independent director of Osmium’s choice. Pursuant to this agreement, Mr. Michael J. McConnell was appointed to the company’s board of directors on March 21, effective immediately. Osmium Partners holds 2.75 million shares which account for 8.2% of the company’s common stock.

Jeffrey Horowitz, Chief Executive Officer of Vitacost.com, commented:

Our Board thoroughly vetted Mr. McConnell and we believe he will bring a valuable perspective to Vitacost’s Board of Directors. I look forward to working constructively with the Board to create value for all stockholders.

Vitacost.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:VITC) has also caught the attention of Phil Frohlich, who has opened a new position during the previous quarter. His fund, Prescott Group Capital Management, has acquired 708,205 shares valued at $4.1 million. D. E. Shaw is also very bullish on this stock, having increased his fund’s stake by 204% in Q4 of 2013. In its latest 13F report, D E Shaw, reported ownership of 90,082 shares valued at $522,000. Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates is also keeping tabs, with his fund holding 2.37 million shares worth approximately $13.7 million.

Vitacost.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:VITC) is a retailer of health and wellness products which activates mainly in North America. The company has a market cap of $251 million and does not pay a dividend. For the three months ending December 31, 2013, the company announced revenues of $97 million and a loss per share of $0.08. Analysts expect Vitacost.com to register revenues of $107 million and a loss of $0.06 per share in the first quarter of 2014.

Lewis and Osmium are also betting big on Rosetta Stone Inc (NYSE:RST), a provider of language learning solutions. The fund holds 1.93 million shares which are valued at $23.6 million. Another top position in Osmium’s equity portfolio is Spark Networks Inc (NYSEMKT:LOV): the fund owns 3.62 million shares reportedly worth $22.3 million.

Disclosure: none.

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