Whether or not you think it’s just the media doing what they do by scaring us into consuming news, the fact of the matter is some of this country’s most influential companies are starting to delay their reopening plans due to rebounding COVID cases.

Although the virus’s renewed proliferation appears to be concentrated among the unvaccinated, this burgeoning chain reaction of back to office delays, should it continue to gain traction as the cold weather nears, will have a detrimental effect on the economy.

To be a successful trader, the word fear must be stricken from your vocabulary.

Instead, a trader must believe in his or her process and have confidence in their ability to find winning trades when the opportunity strikes.

Well, it just so happens that these high-profile reopening delays have sparked some interesting breakouts across a certain group of stocks of late, and I’m about to show you where I find these breakouts.

The work from home trade is back

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, big tech companies have written the playbook for setting workplace rules in times of crisis.

Many of them have plans to bring employees back to the office this fall.

But with the new Delta variant fueling a resurgence of coronavirus cases across the US, these plans are now being put on hold.

In fact, Apple, whose pandemic workplace policies have influenced many Silicon Valley companies, was among the first companies to delay its official office reopening from September to October.

Then, Google, Twitter and Indeed quickly jumped on the bandwagon.

As these highly influential corporations postpone back-to-office mandates, some work from home stocks are starting to wake up again, and I’ve found three that are coming out of bases.

The camera doesn’t just add 10 lbs., it also magnifies your flaws

One of the surprise winners from the first edition of the work-from-home craze was a company that has nothing to do with technology, food delivery, or in-home entertainment.

Instead, the company’s focus is vanity. More specifically, creating better smiles.

When you think about it, it makes perfect sense.

With more and more computers coming standard with ultra-high-definition 4K screens these days, it’s hard to hide those crooked, imperfect teeth.

And Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN) has capitalized on that fact.

ALGN is breaking out of a bullish ascending triangle

It’s not every day you come across a pattern breakout that has all the boxes checked.

Ascending triangles are one of my favorite patterns to trade, and ALGN is checking all the boxes as it breaks above one of these bullish continuation patterns.

So, what are the boxes to which I’m referring?

Well, when we’re talking about pattern breakouts, we like to see volume, momentum, and relative strength (vs. some benchmark) confirming the move.

As Figure 1 below reveals, ALGN has got the trifecta.

Figure 1

Specifically, you notice that accompanying this week’s price breakout are momentum, in the form of 14-DRSI, volume, in the form of the Accumulation/Distribution line, and relative performance, in the form of the relative strength ratio vs. the benchmark S&P 500.

If this pattern produces its textbook potential, which is the width of the triangle base projected higher from the point of breakout, ALGN could reach $784 in the weeks ahead.

If you’re going to try to participate in this potential move, well-defined, absolute price protection sits at $616.58, where the most recent pivot low and rising 50-DMA have now combined as the stop-out level.

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (ZM) is rotating out of a large bullish falling wedge

Of course, it can be said that the company that is most responsible for ALGN’s success is ZM.

Professional work has likely changed forever, with companies like ZM allowing companies to save massive amounts of money on business travel that is no longer necessary.

Sure, there’s always going to be those situations where big deals require that personal touch that only a face-to-face meeting across the country or across the world can satisfy.

But for those countless interactions that simply cover housekeeping matters, the world has come to recognize that a simple video conference from the comfort of your home office will do.

As Figure 2 shows, ZM spent roughly 7 months consolidating its initial COVID-driven success in the form of a large falling wedge that bottomed on 05/11/21.

Figure 2

This is a large bullish continuation pattern that, if it were to reach its textbook potential which is the height of the wedge’s base projected higher from the point of breakout, it could rally to $543 over the weeks ahead.

If you’re going to try to participate in this potential move, well-defined, absolute price protection sits at $343.82, where the most recent pivot low resides just beneath the rising 50-DMA.