Top 12 AI Stocks Taking Wall Street by Storm

8. 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 February 12, Baird raised the firm’s price target on the stock to $230 from $218 and kept an “Outperform” rating on the shares. Previewing Q2 results, the firm noted that Palo Alto is expected to report robust Next-Gen Security Annual Recurring Revenue (NGS ARR), likely exceeding guidance. The company defines Next-Generation Security ARR as the annualized allocated revenue of all active contracts as of the final day of the reporting period for its AI-powered Prisma and Cortex offerings.

It also stands to benefit from multi-quarter tailwinds from customer retention and platformization. Additionally, channel checks suggest that the company is gaining market share in key security areas such as SIEM/SecOps and single-vendor SASE adoption. Management’s focus on annual billings, free cash flow stability, and a strategic emphasis on deepening federal agency relationships, further reinforce the buy rating.