Florida-based Blink Charging (BLNK) is getting the attention of investors after gaining almost 500% in less than two weeks. Shares in the EV charging company traded as low as 17c per share last summer before changing its name to Blink Charging from Car Charging Group and announcing a 1-for-50 reverse stock split. Shares in the revamped EV company traded as low as $1.28 in late April of this year. STOCK PRICE GETS CHARGED: News of an upgrade in the San Francisco Bay Area at 16 McDonald’s franchises did little to move the stock in early May, but when the company announced on May 7 that Amazon’s (AMZN) Whole Foods Market will be including Blink Charging at new locations, shares exploded 220% to around $5 per share. Shares went even higher on May 11 when it announced plans to expand its footprint in the Miami area with a “wave of new EV charging station installations.” EARNINGS: Shares of Blink Charging were higher by as much as 37% after announcing first quarter results this morning. The company reported that total assets increased 335.4% to $11.7M from $2.7M, while net income increased to income of $2.2M from a loss of $3.1M. Also, noteworthy liabilities decreased 76.7% from $38.8M to $9M, the company said. EXECUTIVE COMMENTARY: “2018 is already turning out to be a transformative year for Blink Charging as we have launched into a new stage of growth following our $18.5M public offering on Nasdaq in February,” said Michael D. Farkas, founder and executive chairman of Blink Charging. “Our financials are showing the result of coordinated and strategic deployment of charging stations and an increased revenue from our charging service. We are focused on the nationwide growth of charging stations at commercial and residential properties so that we will be present and accessible as millions of EV drivers begin pouring into cities across the country. We believe investment in technology will further drive property owners to adopt our various business model offerings so that they can take part in what is the beginning of a mass market EV adoption by the public.” POSSIBLE TESLA ACQUISITION: In February, an article by Market Exclusive postured the idea that Blink could be a Tesla (TSLA) acquisition target near-term due to the size of the network it controls. According to the ME article, Tesla is in the process of increasing its driver access to its Superchargers “but this takes time.” “An acquisition of Blink Charging could be a quick and easy way to expand considerably the company’s network of chargers,” the publication contended. PRICE ACTION: Shares of Blink Charging are up 37.4% to $7.48 in afternoon trading. OTHERS TO WATCH: Shares of AeroVironment (AVAV), which has an EV charging business, are falling about 3%.