Looking beyond the coronavirus pandemic of today, can Teladoc, Slack and Zoom help us to re-build a better, healthier world for the future?
This pandemic — though scary and unsettling — will eventually end. Once it does there will be some major changes to the world. I personally am eagerly awaiting the plethora of post-apocalyptic books and TV series to be released (hello, non-isolated Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) binge). But, much like the 9/11 attacks, the aftermath of this crisis will change our way of life. So in that train of thought, here are 3 stocks that will benefit in a post-virus world.
1. Teladoc
Teladoc Health (NYSE: TDOC) is a hot stock to watch right now, and has jumped 12% in the past month. Back in March it saw a 50% increase in usage in just one week and more than half of the visits to Teledoc’s services have been new users. No-one likes to be around other sick people at the best of times and its online services put a stop to this.
Teladoc is currently experiencing a dip, sitting at $138 (as of April 9, 2020) down from its March high of $167. This is mainly due to shifts by investors to cheap buys in the energy and retail sectors. Yet with a growing trend towards telehealth and a 75% market share, it can be expected that more and more people will choose to use Teladoc in a post-virus world.
Teladoc has the advantage of providing a platform that a post-COVID-19 world can benefit from. There will be more contactless platforms and interfaces developed as well as new AI drug development and better data analysis to predict the spread of viruses and track human contact.
Even the likes of ‘the Big Four’: Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) have recently been taking an interest in healthcare. The future of telemedicine will keep traffic to physical medical centers low thus preventing the spread of future diseases.
2. Slack
Slack Technologies (NYSE: WORK) has had a rather difficult couple of months. In fact, since its IPO last June, its stock price has fallen more than 30%. Recently, however, Slack has announced plans to sell up to $750 million in convertible debt in an effort to increase funds. Despite these difficulties, Slack could turn out to be a much-needed service for remote workers and as a competitor to Microsoft Teams.
Remote working is not likely to disappear anytime soon. On the rise before the spread of COVID-19, and currently a mandatory way of life during the pandemic, there is a need for more platforms with remote access capabilities. Slack has the benefit of being a seamless tool for use in both the office and at home.
In its most recent quarter Slack increased the percentage of users by 6.4% in just 7 weeks, showing that the demand for workplace communication platforms is growing. In a post-virus world, remote working will no longer be a vague possibility for many companies, but a necessity.
3. Zoom
Since February, this video chat company has seen its shares ‘zoom’ up by 23.4% (as of April 3rd). Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ: ZM) has become a household name overnight with both businesses and friend groups using the app to communicate whilst in isolation.
Zoom has highlighted how much easier conferences can be without the need to travel either overseas or even to your office. The post-virus world will contain stronger, more resilient digital infrastructure and will have more digital events, such as conferences or e-sport conventions.
However, there are some points of concern to consider with Zoom. Zoom does not use end-to-end encryption methods nor does it protect your data apparently, selling it off to the likes of Facebook. Yet, the backlash that Zoom is facing at the moment due to recent hacks can be seen as indicative of how fast the company has grown.
During this pandemic and in the future COVID-19-free world, we will be relying on technology such as Zoom much more extensively. It provides a cheaper and better alternative to long and environmentally damaging business trips.
MyWallSt operates a full disclosure policy. MyWallSt staff currently hold long positions in companies mentioned above. Read our full disclosure policy here.