12 Best Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Long Term

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 77

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is one of the 12 Best Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Long Term. The company released its Q3 2025 results on May 20. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) exceeded expectations with revenue at $2.29 billion topping estimates by $8.99 million, and EPS of $0.80 exceeded consensus by $0.03.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) continues to execute on its platformization strategy, thereby moving away from selling isolated security products and instead offering integrated, cloud-based security platforms. As a result of this strategy, the company achieved 5 billion in next-generation security (NGS) annual recurring revenue (ARR), up 34% year-over-year. Moreover, most of the growth came from AI-powered products like XSIAM, SASE, and software firewalls.

On May 21, Malik Ahmed Khan, equity analyst at Morningstar appeared on Yahoo Finance to talk about his investment perspective on the company. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) has been a leader in cybersecurity for several years, said Khan. He noted that Morningstar has been recommending the company to investors for catalyzing investments. He also highlighted the platformization strategy of the company as a move to expand beyond traditional firewall business and into the networking and cloud security markets.