What happened
Blink Charging (BLNK 3.71%) stock had an amazing run on Monday, surging 48% in a single day on no good news at all to close above $33 a share -- but it appears Blink may have dodged a bullet yesterday, and that bullet caught up to it this morning.
Blink is undeniably a popular stock among renewable energy fans. But just before noon yesterday, noted short-seller Citron Research published a report blasting Blink stock as the "new most ridiculous EV stock" on the planet. Investors appear not to have noticed the report when it came out, but boy, oh, boy are they noticing it today -- and Blink stock is down 13.2% in 10:40 a.m. EST trading because of it.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Citron's "report" came more in the form of a series of tweets (although I imagine Citron has something more formal drawn up and filed away somewhere). Among other objections raised, Citron criticizes Blink for lack of spending on research and development, and for lack of real revenue, too. (Although how Citron expects Blink to spend money on R&D without having revenue to pay for it, I cannot imagine.)
According to Citron, the only way Blink might be able to pay for R&D -- or even stay in business -- would be if it were to run a "massively diluted deal" to sell stock and raise cash.
New most ridiculous EV stock is $BLNK. No $$for R&D, management accused of securities fraud, no real revenues. Expect a massively diluted deal soon so management can continue to deceive public. This should trade right back to $10 where it is still overpriced. Total scheme
— Citron Research (@CitronResearch) November 23, 2020
Now what
Calling Blink investors "naive" for not recognizing this risk, Citron concludes by calling Blink stock "a $1 bil joke" that "should be at $1 per share."
And Citron may be right about that. Reviewing the company's financials on S&P Global Market Intelligence, it appears Citron is correct that Blink has reported spending exactly nothing on R&D for at least the past five years. Revenue isn't exactly zero, but at just $4.5 million over the past 12 months, it's pretty close. And it almost goes without saying that Blink Charging is not a profitable company, having lost $12.8 million over the past year.
All of a sudden, these facts seem to be catching up to Blink today.
