Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Achieves FedRAMP High Authorization for AI-Powered Cybersecurity Solutions

We recently compiled a list of the 10 AI News Dominating Wall Street Today. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) stands against the other AI stocks that are dominating Wall Street.

The Generative AI market, a crucial branch of artificial intelligence, is revolutionizing entire industries today. According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, the Gen-AI market was valued at USD 20.21 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach USD 440 billion by 2032. This signifies an impressive CAGR of 41.31% over the forecast period from 2024 to 2032.

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According to the report, the North American region leads the Generative AI market with a 34% share in 2023. Its robust technology ecosystem, skilled workforce, and increasing demand for AI-powered content are responsible for the leading market share. The European region has also been experiencing growth, driven by government funding, startup innovation, and region-specific applications.

Back in 2022, the generative AI market was dominated by established players only. These established players accounted for 88% of the market share, whereas start-ups grasped only 12%. This is now changing, with more players entering the market with each passing year.

Highlighting advancements in artificial intelligence, Sam Altman, CEO of AI Company OpenAI states how the next innovations in AI are going to be more disruptive than people can imagine. Speaking at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit in New York City, he stated that the industry may begin to see examples of artificial general intelligence (AGI), which refers to the hypothetical intelligence of a machine similar to that of a human, as soon as 2025.

“I think it’s possible… in 2025 we will have systems that we look at… and people will say, ‘Wow, that changes what I expected”

-Sam Altman

Altman noted that at first, the introduction of AGI, and the level of intelligence beyond it, is going to have minimal effect. However, it will later “be more intense than people think”.  In its latest advancements in AI, OpenAI has now begun testing new reasoning AI models, o3 and o3 mini.

This demonstrates a sign of growing competition with rivals such as Google to create smarter models proficient at solving complex problems. According to Altman, OpenAI plans to launch the o3 mini by the end of January, and the full o3 after that. The enhanced models aim to outperform existing ones, driving new investments and user growth.

The new o3 and o3 mini models are currently undergoing internal safety testing, and are anticipated to be more powerful than the o1 models. OpenAI has ignited a competitive AI arms race, pushing tech companies worldwide to accelerate the development of cutting-edge AI technologies.

For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Jefferies Raises Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Price Target to $240, Citing Cybersecurity Resilience

A cutting-edge computer lab full of IT experts monitoring the security of multiple systems.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is a leader in AI-powered cybersecurity. On December 19, the company announced that it has received Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) High Authorization across its industry-leading network, cloud, and security operations (SOC) platforms. The “FedRAMP High Authorization” signifies that a cloud service provider has met the most rigorous security controls necessary to handle highly sensitive and classified government data. The achievement has allowed Palo Alto to offer the most comprehensive suite of AI-powered cybersecurity solutions authorized for use in federal networks at the High-impact level. Powered by artificial intelligence and automation, the company’s unified platform offers customers operational efficiencies and protection against cyber threats.

“Today’s disconnected infrastructure makes security complex and difficult to manage. This authorization is validation of Palo Alto Networks platform approach and the ability to ingest and correlate data from an integrated approach and provide comprehensive security across platforms of products. We have long championed the efforts of FedRAMP to ensure products are tested and vetted to meet the highest of standards in protecting our government. We will continue to work with FedRAMP to further expand on the products and features offered in the HIGH authorization”.

-Eric Trexler, senior vice president, US Public Sector, Palo Alto Networks.

Overall PANW ranks 5th on our list of the AI stocks dominating Wall Street today. While we acknowledge the potential of PANW as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PANW but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.