8 Tech Companies Set to Shine in a Social Distancing World

It’s possible that this period where many Americans are forced to work from home may make some of the trends that have been in place for some time a permanent part of our culture. One of the trends is the use of virtual private networks (VPNs). And Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) is one of the leading manufacturers of these networks. According to Mark Rounds, a management information systems instructor at the University of Idaho, this is only the beginning of a long-term trend towards employees using VPNs to work from home.

Cisco addresses a key need for businesses to have a proper work-from-home infrastructure. “Coronavirus may expose the underlying weakness of the existing telecommuting infrastructure on both the corporate and public side,” said Rounds. “Companies supplying the hardware that will be used to build a more robust infrastructure will increase in value and the prices of their products will be driven higher.”

And Cisco is more than just a hardware play. The company has Web-Ex “the leading enterprise solution for video conferencing, online meetings, screen share, and webinars.” 

Cisco is also seeing nice growth in its security business. And while this business has a lot more competition, Cisco can benefit from being able to provide a secure, and functional work-from-home infrastructure. And like many stocks right now, Cisco stock is selling at a heavy discount from its 52-week highs.

Speaking of video conferencing, Zoom (NASDAQ:ZM) is one of the most talked-about stocks in recent weeks. As employees work from home, it may very well change how employees and employers think about the need for meetings. But that’s a different discussion.

Until then, there’s Zoom, a competitor of WebEx. The outbreak of the coronavirus is providing Zoom with a moment to shine. That’s because schools, universities, and even children’s playgroups are finding applications for the company’s software.

The stock is up 90% in 2020 as of March 20. And since nobody knows how long this forced sequestering will last, Zoom has a nice long runway for investors. Plus, according to Needham analyst Richard Valera, the stock still has room to grow.

“We think Zoom’s exceptionally easy to use meetings product has both enabled and benefited from a long-term secular shift towards working from home,” says Valera. “We think Covid-19 is driving an enduring application of this shift. In the near-term, our checks confirm significant increases in business activity, especially in Covid hotspots, which admittedly could be mitigated by delays in closing larger enterprise deals.”

DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU) is another company that may find itself in the right place at the right time. Many consumers and businesses were already using DocuSign to securely scan and email important documents. That usage will only increase not only during this period of social distancing, but into the future.

You can also say that DocuSign is a beneficiary of perfect timing. The company posted a strong revenue increase of 39% for its 2020 fiscal year that ended on January 31, 2020. The company also posted positive forward guidance of a 31% revenue gain for fiscal 2021. DocuSign is on pace to log $1 billion in revenue, putting it in elite company among software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies.

The two catalysts that DocuSign believes can carry them through this slowdown and beyond are their efficiency and ability to set-up businesses remotely. If the economy does tip into a recession, DocuSign feels that the return on investment (ROI) that businesses receive will be obvious. And, as more companies resist the idea of having technicians come on site, DocuSign’s CEO Dan Springer says that, with the exception of some of its largest enterprise clients, the company can do most installation remotely.

Despite the sell-off in the market, DocuSign stock is still up about 5% for 2020.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has not been immune from the market sell-off. However, there was talk since the beginning of the year that Microsoft was overbought and investors were probably looking to take some profit. However, MSFT stock is down about 15% for the year and looks like it’s trying to form a base.

The reason I’m optimistic about Microsoft’s recovery has to do with Teams, the company’s entry into the productivity software space. Teams is a newcomer to a space in which Slack (WORK) is an established competitor. Like Slack, Teams combines features of social networking with productivity and collaboration tools. Employees can instant message and share files.

However, Microsoft Teams is growing faster than Slack and Teams will be an attractive addition to the company’s Office 365 suite of products. In fact, one of the catalysts for Microsoft is that they have an existing relationship with many customers. And as they continue to expand in cloud computing, via its Azure platform, it has an easy point of entry to introduce customers to Teams.

It’s not surprising that in this period of sheltering I’m seeing social media posts from people I haven’t heard from in years. While many social media sites should see an increase in daily active users (DAUs), I like Twitter (NYSE:TWTR).

An argument against social media stocks right now is that advertisers are unlikely to continue to pay a premium for ad space. Since Twitter, like Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOGL) rely on advertising revenue, it would make sense that the company would see their share price decline.

However, supply and demand still rules the roost. And Twitter is, for better or worse, becoming a key source of news for many Americans. What started out as a space for quirky, short posts has turned into a go-to source for journalists and media outlets to drop breaking news. It also is a place of (ahem) lively discussion.

That’s a combination that should entice advertisers to at least continue advertising on the platform. And since Twitter has announced aggressive steps to fight misinformation about the coronavirus, they are hoping to convince advertisers that they should still be a sought-after platform.

Teladoc Health (NYSE:TDOC) is a stock for investors with higher risk tolerance. The company is not yet profitable, but it’s about to have a massive opportunity. The Trump administration has authorized an expansion of services like the kind provided by Teladoc and other companies.

Several states, although admittedly not a flood of them, are expanding their telehealth services. The goal is to allow doctors and patients to easily connect online. The state of Washington is moving to allow doctors to treat patients voluntarily even if they are not licensed in the state (they must be licensed elsewhere).

Currently, 260 doctors have volunteered, but the vetting process will take months. And then getting licensed can is still a lengthy, and expensive, venture.

I have to admit, I struggle with the idea of receiving a virtual diagnosis. But this may be the way society will move. If contagious patients can be kept away from a doctor’s office, but still get the care they need, it could be a major win.

As of March 20, TDOC stock was up 70% for the year.