SIMONE DEL ROSARIO: THE NEWS OF A NEW COVID VARIANT HAD MARKETS SEEING RED THIS PAST WEEK, BUT SOME STOCKS ACTUALLY GOT AN OMICRON BOOST. HERE’S TODAY’S FIVE FOR FRIDAY.

STARTING US OFF AT NUMBER FIVE ARE TWO OF THE STOCK MARKET’S FAVORITE PANDEMIC PLAYS, ZOOM AND PELOTON. BOTH OF THESE COMPANIES HAVE HAD A ROUGH GO WITH REOPENING AND BOTH FOUND NEW LIFE, SURGING OVER FIVE PERCENT, WHEN THE OMICRON VARIANT GOT ITS NAME. FILE THESE UNDER “STAY AT HOME STOCKS” TO WATCH THIS WINTER.

AT NUMBER FOUR WE HAVE TELADOC, WHICH LIKE THE LAST TWO, HAS BEEN PRETTY MUCH PUMMELED ALL YEAR. BUT THE VIRTUAL HEALTH CARE COMPANY SAW A SLIGHT JUMP WITH OMICRON, AND WHILE ITS LEAD DIDN’T LAST, EXPERTS SAY THIS COMPANY IS POSITIONED TO GROW AS LONG AS IT CAN KEEP EXPENSES UNDER CONTROL.

TAKING THE THREE SPOT: IF NEW VARIANTS HAD YOU THINKING ABOUT MORE TIME INSIDE PLAYING VIDEO GAMES, INVESTORS THOUGHT IT TOO. GAMING STOCKS LIKE ZYNGA AND TAKE TWO INTERACTIVE HIT THE JUMP BUTTON ON THE BAD COVID NEWS.

COMING IN AT NUMBER TWO: THE VACCINE MAKERS, MODERNA, PFIZER, BIONTECH. ALL SAW BIG LEAPS WITH OMICRON. AND WHILE THEY MAY NOT HAVE THE PERFECT FORMULA TO COMBAT THE NEW VARIANT, THESE COMPANIES ARE ALREADY MAKING THOSE MODIFICATIONS, WHICH MEANS THEY’LL ALMOST CERTAINLY BE PART OF THE SOLUTION.

TAKING OUR TOP SPOT IS UNDERDOG TOP GLOVE, THE WORLD’S BIGGEST GLOVE MAKER. THIS HONG-KONG TRADED COMPANY SAW DOUBLE DIGIT GAINS TWO DAYS IN A ROW ON NEWS OMICRON MAY SPIKE DEMAND FOR MEDICAL WEAR.

THAT’S YOUR FIVE FOR FRIDAY. STAY SAFE OUT THERE. I’M SDR FROM NEW YORK WITH JUST BUSINESS. WE’LL SEE YOU MONDAY.