Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Earnings In, Baird Stays Bullish With $230 Target

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We recently published a list of 10 AI Stocks Investors Are Watching Today. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) stands against other AI stocks that investors are watching today.

Speaking on CNBC’s “Halftime Report”, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management and CNBC PRO contributor Josh Brown said that he believes the most important theme for the stock market right now is artificial intelligence, not tariffs.

“The most important thing to come out of this past earnings report is that AI is more important than tariffs to the stock market.”

Brown cited JPMorgan research, noting that the term “AI” was mentioned 2.6 times more often than the word “tariff” in the last round of S & P 500 earnings reports.

READ NOW: 12 AI Stocks Making Waves on Wall Street Today and 15 AI Stocks Surging on News and Analyst Ratings

He even said that those Big Tech companies that affirmed or raised guidance have been saviors, protecting the stock market from the massive turmoil in April.

“This is an AI driven tape. This is still the most important theme in the entire market. Yes, there are other themes. Yes, there are other sectors doing well, but absent AI, there’s just no chance that we would have pulled this this spring out of the hole the way that we have, and that’s because of the affirmed guidance.”

That said, a report from Silicon Valley Bank has revealed how venture capital firms focused on artificial intelligence are behind much of the growth in the startup market. Meanwhile, companies in other areas are struggling to raise cash.

“Exclude AI investment and the story changes. There is no meaningful uptick for companies not leveraging AI, with investment from this group essentially flat for the last year.”

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. The hedge fund data is as of Q4 2024.

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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points  (see more details here).

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Earnings In, Baird Stays Bullish With $230 Target
Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Earnings In, Baird Stays Bullish With $230 Target

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. The company announced its fiscal third quarter 2025 financial results on May 20, 2025. The AI-powered cybersecurity vendor reported a 15% year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching $2.3 billion and just beating the analyst estimate of $2.28 billion. The GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $0.37, exceeding the estimated EPS of $0.35.