Rising Coronavirus Cases Shift Focus to Online Learning: 4 Top Gainers
Coronavirus cases have been rising relentlessly across the United States, compelling people to continue to work and study from home. Per the latest data by Johns Hopkins University, coronavirus cases across the United States surpassed 11.5 million on Nov 18. The death toll also rose to 250,537. Promising vaccine news should help abate the anxiety going forward but the approaching winter is blurring the outlook. Moreover, in a recent announcement, the New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that schools in New York City will shut down and move to online learning completely, as quoted in a CNBC article. The article also mentioned that the Mayor had already sounded a warning bell to parents a few days earlier regarding the closure of schools. This renewed shift to online learning can catch up quickly across various schools and colleges in the country making learners dependent on such technology to continue their education.
The article also mentioned that the mayor had already announced that schools would be closed if the average of positive COVID-19 tests in New York City reaches 3%. This average was arrived on Nov 18, following which the Mayor took the necessary steps. Notably, the closure came after the Mayor had to earlier delay reopening twice as union leaders had objected to health measures not being sufficient enough to ensure the safety of students and staff from COVID-19.
Notably, since the onset of the pandemic, which forced schools, colleges and universities to shut down across the country, remote learning has been on a rise. Corroborative of this, a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Aug 26 also stressed on how COVID-19 had led to a shift toward online learning. The report mentioned that school-age children in nearly 93% of households made use of some form of “distance learning” from home.
The report further mentioned that from May 28 to Jun 2, 80% of people having children said that the kids were making use of online resources for learning. The report, however, mentioned that the willingness to educate children online was more among high-income households than lower-income ones. Nonetheless, the shift to online resources for learning has been a significant one. It has now become the go-to solution for learning as the pandemic has forced people to change their ways of living.
4 Top Stocks to Benefit
With COVID-19 cases on a rise in the United States and New York City recently announcing the shutting down of schools, online learning is the need of the hour. This makes it a judicious time to invest in online learning stocks. We have picked four such stocks that carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
K12 Inc. LRN is a technology-based education company providing proprietary and third-party online curriculum, software systems and educational services facilitating individualized learning for students in kindergarten through K-12 in the United States. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 18.4% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is more than 100%.
GP Strategies Corporation GPX offers performance improvement and learning solutions in the United States and operates under the segments of workforce excellence and business transformation services. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 85.7% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the next year is more than 100%.
American Public Education, Inc. APEI, along with its subsidiaries, provides online and campus-based post-secondary education in the United States. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 7.9% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 12.8%.
Lincoln Educational Services Corporation LINC, along with its subsidiaries, provides career-oriented post-secondary education services to high school graduates and working adults in the United States. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 57.9% over the past 60 days. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is over 100%.
These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic
The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.
Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.
See the 5 high-tech stocks now>>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
American Public Education, Inc. (APEI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
GP Strategies Corporation (GPX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
K12 Inc (LRN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
