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3 Tech Stocks to Watch Amid Rising Coronavirus Cases

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Rising COVID-19 cases across the United States are compelling people to stay at home. Such development is positive for technology stocks as staying at home implies that people will have to continue to rely heavily on technology for their daily needs and communication. Per the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, the country’s COVID-19 cases surpassed 11 million, with the death toll at 247,175, as on Nov 16. Moreover, major European countries like England, Germany and France have imposed fresh lockdowns in order to counter the surge in cases, as mentioned in a CNBC article.

Meanwhile, over the past few months, the economy has been gradually reopening. Businesses and other economic activities saw a turnaround as more people are getting back to work. However, that optimism seems to be fading with the continuous rise in COVID-19 cases, overshadowing the latest positive developments in the vaccine front. Meanwhile, the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index showed that consumers are now wary of the worsening COVID-19 scenario. The index dropped to 77 for the first half of November from 81.8 in late October, as quoted in a BloombergQuint article.

Nonetheless, technology stocks will be in focus. The year has already seen changes in the way people lead their lives due to the pandemic. With many people staying indoors and working from home, technology stocks have seen a good rally. Notably, the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) has gained 33.5% year to date. People have been largely depending on technology to conduct meetings or educating children online as it has become a viable and safe means of communicating with no risk of exposure to the virus. Moreover, online shopping picked up as brick-and-mortar stores shut down in wake of the pandemic. Reflective of this trend, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has also risen 32.9% year to date.

3 Tech Stocks to Watch Out For

As COVID-19 cases keep rising, people have no choice but to stay at home. This will only prolong the dependence on technology that has been effective in meeting their daily requirements. This makes it ideal to keep an eye on technology stocks which stand to benefit from this scenario. We have handpicked three such stocks that carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NIC Inc. provides digital government services, enabling governments to use technology to provide various services to businesses and citizens in the United States. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 32.9% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 34.7%.  

Dropbox, Inc. (DBX - Free Report) provides a collaboration platform allowing individuals, teams and organizations to sign up for free or upgrade to paid subscription for access to premium features. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved 14.3% north over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 76%.

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (ZM - Free Report) provides a video-first communications platform in the United States, with its services including Zoom Meetings, Zoom Phone and Zoom Chat. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has risen 10.2% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is more than 100%.

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