The novel coronavirus outbreak has forced many people to stay home and work -- and kids are "going" to school virtually as well. That's a big reason why video conferencing company Zoom Video Communications (ZM) has been one of the rare Wall Street winners while the broader market has plunged into bear status.
Shares of Zoom soared nearly 20% Monday to a new all-time high and are now up an astonishing 130% so far in 2020. CEO Eric Yuan said during an earnings conference call earlier this month that "overnight, almost every business really understands they needed a tool like this. This will dramatically change the landscape. I truly believe in the future, every business would turn to video for the remote workers for the collaboration."
Another web video company, virtual medicine firm Teladoc, is also surging on social distancing measures. Teladoc (TDOC) shares were up about 15% Monday to a new record highs and have nearly doubled this year.
Teladoc said in a release last week that it is "experiencing unprecedented daily visit volume in the United States as the novel coronavirus continues to spread globally." Patient visits were up 50% from the prior week to about 100,000 -- and a big chunk are reporting breathing problems due to the virus.
“We are seeing more patients and more of those patients are experiencing upper respiratory issues,” said Teladoc chief medical officer Lew Levy, MD, in the release.