Grifols, the Catalan pharmaceutical group, saw its shares slide more than 6% after 11 a.m. on the day it was scheduled to hold a conference call with investors. The purpose of the call was to counter accusations from Gotham City Research and to outline the latest developments surrounding the firm. The day’s trading showed the stock dipping 6.52% at 11:02 a.m., trading around 11.03 euros, following a previous session that closed with a notable gain of about 12% after the firm announced it would pursue legal action against Gotham City Research for alleged harm to the company’s financial position and reputation (source: Gotham City Research report, attribution).
The company described Gotham City Research’s conclusions as misinformation and speculation, framing the report as a targeted attack on Grifols’ credibility. Management outlined its roadmap for addressing the criticisms and explained that it would systematically respond to each point raised by the bearish research firm in its published analysis. The objective was to demonstrate that the concerns did not reflect the true state of the company’s operations.
In parallel, Sabadell issued a positive assessment of Grifols’ disclosed financial information, including clarifications on consolidation methods and accounting criteria that had been audited. The bank noted that the report did not flag problems in the core technology development, core business operations, or operating cash generation, reinforcing its confidence in the company’s fundamentals unless factual errors were identified (source: Sabadell commentary, attribution).
Despite the favorable notes, Sabadell cautioned that Gotham City Research’s charges could exert downward pressure on Grifols’ stock price, particularly given the report’s emphasis and framing. The bearish fund had released a preliminary document accusing the group of manipulating debt ratios and EBITDA to present a lower leverage profile, warning that such actions could have irreversible consequences for investors and stakeholders (source: Gotham City Research report, attribution).
Following the report’s publication, Grifols’ securities retraced and finished a subsequent trading session with a meaningful decline, wiping out a portion of recent gains and leaving the market with a lower capitalization for the period. The firm underscored that the accusations harmed not only the value of the shares but also the confidence of patients and donors, noting the broader impact on stakeholder relations.
Grifols’ board of directors reiterated their support for the CEO and chief executive, Thomas Glanzmann, highlighting his ongoing commitment to the company since its establishment in 2006. The board confirmed that all actions and disclosures cited in Gotham City Research’s report had been reviewed and were supported by unanimous votes across the board and its committees. The leadership emphasized that the operations highlighted in the Gotham report had been accompanied by the necessary supporting information and third-party evaluations.
Glanzmann criticized the approach of the American firm, especially its discussion around the pricing of donor-center acquisitions. He argued that the cost of acquiring a business is not merely the asset price; it also reflects the acquired entity’s capacity to generate profit. The emphasis was on the broader context of the company’s growth strategy, risk controls, and long-term value creation for shareholders.