We recently compiled a list of the 10 AI News Investors Can’t Afford to Miss. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) stands against the other AI stocks investors can’t afford to miss.
According to a famous Wall Street brokerage Goldman Sachs, the S&P 500 index will reach 6,500 by the end of 2025. The US economy and corporate earnings are expected to continue growing, a key factor driving the optimism behind this forecast. Another brokerage, Morgan Stanley, has made a similar prediction, stating that US earnings will continue to grow in 2025. This can be expected if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates next year and there are signs of a stronger business cycle. The ‘Magnificent 7’ stocks, which are key tech giants leading in AI innovation, are likely to outperform the rest of the 493 companies in the benchmark index next year, Goldman notes. The outperformance, however, is only predicted to be by 7 percentage points, the slimmest margin in seven years.
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The Latest Developments in AI
As companies increasingly leverage artificial intelligence to drive growth, the pivotal role that AI technology is playing in influencing market trends becomes increasingly undeniable. In the latest news, AI-powered search engine Perplexity is reportedly taking a jab at some of the tech giants by launching its very own shopping feature that it claims is a “one-stop solution where you can research and purchase products.”
“You can use it to research and make purchases on all things like building your library, buying electronics for throwing a party, and so on,”
-Perplexity said in a thread on X that also included a short video (below) showing the new feature in action.
The shopping tool allows users to enter queries, refine results, and includes features such as one-click checkout. Its major point of differentiation, however, is that it describes its results as “unbiased recommendations” that are powered by AI and based on in-platform reviews.
“When you ask Perplexity a shopping question, you’ll still get the precise, objective answers you expect, plus easy-to-read product cards showing the most relevant items, along with key details presented in a simple, visual format.”
In other news, Coca-Cola is facing backlash with an AI-made advertisement. Originally meant to pay homage to a classic 1995 commercial, many creatives have drawn criticism, stating that it is distasteful for the company to use AI technology to create the video instead of the work of artists. As per Forbes, the video was created by three AI studios, namely Secret Level, Silverside AI, and Wild Card, and used four different generative AI models.
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.
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 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A cutting-edge computer lab full of IT experts monitoring the security of multiple systems.
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)
Market Capitalization: $126.59 billion
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is a global cybersecurity company that uses Precision AI, Palo Alto Networks’ proprietary AI system, to offer cybersecurity solutions.
On November 18, Truist analyst Joel Fishbein raised the firm’s price target on Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) to $425 from $400 and kept a “Buy” rating on the shares. The rating comes as part of a broader research note reviewing Q3 results for the Infrastructure & Security Software names. Since last year, buyer behavior has started becoming steady and the firm now focuses on 2025 when generative AI projects will be put to the test. The firm adds that for Palo Alto, customer and partner conversions imply that the company is performing well, driven by strong demand for vendor consolidation.
Overall PANW ranks 1st on our list of the AI stocks investors can’t afford to miss. While we acknowledge the potential of PANW as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PANW but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.