Jim Cramer’s Biggest Winners to Buy: Top 5 AI & Other Stocks He Got Right in 2026

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holdings in Q3 2025: 85

Number of Hedge Fund Holdings in Q1 2026: 87

Performance Since Cramer’s Remarks: 79.50%

Date/Month of Cramer’s Remarks: January 7th, 2026

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is a cybersecurity services provider. Its shares are up by 72.8% over the past year and by 94% year-to-date. Cramer has been increasingly optimistic about the cybersecurity sector for more than a year. The CNBC TV host started 2025 by asserting that cybersecurity stocks would benefit from the growth in data usage from AI and threats to American cybersecurity infrastructure. However, one aspect that missed Cramer’s radar was the impact of AI on these companies’ operations. Anthropic’s AI models have generated headlines in 2026 due to their ability to discover software exploits. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s shares closed 6% lower on March 27th as the market worried about this impact. However, since June 10th, the stock is up by 32%, with media reports attributing the performance to the demand for sophisticated cybersecurity tools due to threats from AI. Here is what Cramer had said about Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in January:

“I think that Nikesh Arora does a great job. I slighted him too much. I said so many good things about CrowdStrike earlier. Palo Alto’s a terrific company is well off its high. I think it is a buy.”

Brown Advisory Large-Cap Growth Strategy discussed Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:

“Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is a leader in cybersecurity and one of the largest pure-play vendors in the space. We initiated the position following a period of weakness driven by concerns around AI-driven disruption and the integration of recent acquisitions. We believe these concerns are overstated, as Palo Alto continues to successfully build a broad, integrated platform aligned with the growing trend toward vendor consolidation. With strong free cash flow generation and a track record of execution, we believe the company is well positioned to deliver durable growth as the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve.”