Selling just in advance of or at time of the PEA announcement might be scrutinized as illegal insider trading. They could wait till after release of results and hope for higher prices but if retail buys the rumor and sells the news then the combined selling would have an even greater negative impact.
My opinion is that they or someone (with a lot of shares) is unloading into any buying(bids)interest prior to release of PEA. They would still have plenty to hold and sell later.
Any dilutive selling or negative news is likely to have a negative impact to s/p, this selling seems to be someone who understands this and is at the front of the line to unload some. Not that they want the depressed share price, rather they see the s/p more depressed if they wait.
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