12 AI Stocks in the Spotlight for Investors

6. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 85

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is one of the 12 AI Stocks in the Spotlight for Investors. On December 17, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Jonathan Ruykhaver reiterated an “Overweight” rating on the stock, highlighting quantum and AI strategies, following F1Q26 beat.

Palo Alto reported better-than-expected performance across all metrics, driven by platform consolidation momentum and booming demand for AI-era security architectures.

The company raised its long-term NGS ARR target to $20B by FY30, citing traction across SASE, Cortex, and AIRS; along with expanding total addressable market as the company pushes further into identity, observability, and quantum readiness.

Cantor also discussed PANW’s acquisition of Chronosphere in their investor note, which is a next-generation observability platform built to scale with AI workloads. The acquisition will further enable Palo Alto to become a “full stack security and observability leader.”

“We maintain a constructive long-term view as Palo Alto positions ahead of major platform shifts in AI, identity, and quantum security.”

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is a leader in AI-powered cybersecurity.