Zoom & 2 Other Hot Video Conferencing Stocks to Watch Out For

Zoom Video Communications, Inc.’s ZM shares spiked 40.8% on Sep 1, taking the company’s market cap up to $129.1 billion. The stock is now up 572.7% so far this year, whereas the broader S&P 500 index has risen only 3.1%.

 

Notably, Zoom’s current market cap is now higher than almost 80% of the S&P 500 index members. In fact, based on current valuation, the video-conferencing company is now comparable to home-improvement chain Lowes Companies, Inc. LOW.

Zoom’s shares scaled northward after an amazing July-quarter earnings report that pushed the stock well past $100-billion valuation. For the quarter, Zoom reported revenues of $663.5 million, up 355% from a year ago. It also easily beat analysts’ expectation of $500 million sales.

Further, the company’s guidance for the full year is promising. Zoom now sees revenues for the full year at $2.37 billion, up from the earlier forecast of $1.78 billion to $1.8 billion, and more than 30% above analysts’ expectations. Separately, for the October quarter, Zoom expects revenues at $685 million to $690 million, more than analysts’ projection of $493 million.

It’s worth pointing out that the remarkable July-quarter report as well as the full-year guidance comes in after the company witnessed a stellar April quarter. Nonetheless, Zoom got a boost in the July quarter after the Trump administration issued lockdown measures, which in turn attracted business organizations and schools to sign up this easy-to-use video conferencing platform as a way to stay connected.

And with the stay-at-home trend likely to continue despite the restrictions being eased, Zoom is poised to benefit. Many companies have gotten accustomed to the new paradigm shift, and almost 100,000 schools have by now signed up for Zoom access.

Talking about companies, Facebook, Inc. FB despite having its own video-conferencing offerings, felt the need to add Zoom capabilities to its products, hinting at Zoom’s strengthening market position.

At the same time, the company’s efforts to eliminate security and privacy loopholes like “zoombombing” are expected to help maintain its existing enterprise user base as well as attract new customers.

Thus, the Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current and next quarter is 300% and 80%, respectively. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has climbed 0.8% over the past 30 days. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

But why just Zoom? Investors might want to venture a little and keep an eye on two other video conferencing stocks poised to gain in the near term. This can help you double your returns. After all, the world is now getting accustomed to video conferencing rather than in-person meetings. Here’re the stocks–

Microsoft Corporation MSFT is one of the largest broad-based technology providers in the world. Ongoing expansion in Microsoft Teams subscriber base is helping the company strengthen its position in the enterprise communication market.

Teams user growth is positioned to improve on the online learning wave and tele healthcare trends. Notably, people meet, collaborate, and work securely from anywhere with Microsoft Teams.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current and next quarter is 10.9% and 5.3%, respectively. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has risen 0.2% over the past 30 days.

Google-parent Alphabet Inc. GOOGL is one of the most innovative companies in the modern technological era. Over the last few years, the company has evolved from primarily being a search-engine provider to cloud computing, ad-based video and music streaming, autonomous vehicles, healthcare providers and others.

Alphabet is making enterprise-grade video conferencing available to all. Anyone can now with the help of a Google Account have an online meeting with up to 100 participants.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current and quarter is 11.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved 0.4% up over the past 30 days.

On a year-to-date basis, shares of Microsoft and Alphabet have surged 44.1% and 23.6%, respectively. Both the stocks, currently, carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

 

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