We recently published a list of 13 High Growth Large Cap Stocks To Invest In. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) stands against other best high growth stocks to invest in.

After two years of 25%+ gains, some investors worry that stocks are overvalued. Historically, the third year of a bull market is not usually spectacular, but it is not typically negative either. A lot depends on factors like interest rates and global tensions. According to Morgan Stanley, investor sentiment has maintained a familiar pattern over the years, with pessimism in late 2022, skepticism throughout 2023 even as stocks soared, and now, growing optimism for 2025. The real turning point could be AI. If businesses embrace artificial intelligence the way they did the internet in the late ’90s, it could result in a productivity boom that keeps the market rally going. As for stocks, big tech still reigns supreme, but valuations are much lower than during the dotcom bubble, making them less risky. Still, Morgan Stanley believes a smart strategy for 2025 might be balancing tech investments with financials and industrials to stay diversified.

In 2024, large-cap growth stocks in the United States had another strong year, with the Russell Growth Index climbing 33.4%, mostly powered by a concentrated group of major tech and communication companies, commonly known as the Magnificent Seven. By December, these handful of stocks were responsible for a huge chunk of the gains. Growth stocks kept their winning streak in the fourth quarter, outpacing value stocks by 9.2%, according to a report by LSEG. Over the past decade, they have consistently beat the Russell Value index, averaging 7% higher annual returns.

Investors are on edge as trade policies shake up the market, wiping out $4 trillion from recent highs. Fears of an economic slowdown have triggered a major sell-off, with the broader market dropping 2.7%, its worst day of the year, while the Nasdaq plunged 4% on March 10. Since peaking in February, the wider market has fallen 8.6% as of March 10, inching toward correction territory. Tech stocks, which drove market gains in 2023 and 2024, are also struggling in 2025, pulling major indexes down. Hedge funds are also backing away, cutting stock exposure at the fastest rate in over two years. Optimism around pro-growth policies has receded as uncertainty blooms in the market. Even with recent losses, stock valuations remain near record highs, leaving investors bracing for more volatility ahead.

A cutting-edge computer lab full of IT experts monitoring the security of multiple systems.

Our Methodology

For this article, we used the Finviz screener to identify large-cap stocks with market capitalizations ranging from approximately $10 billion to $200 billion as of March 14. We then applied a filter to select stocks with a 5-year revenue growth exceeding 20%, verifying this data through additional sources. Using Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 hedge fund database, we examined the hedge fund sentiment for each stock and selected 13 most popular ones. The stocks are ranked in ascending order based on the average 5-year revenue growth.

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, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83

Average 5-Year Revenue Growth: 22.94%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is a California-based global cybersecurity company that provides network, security operations, and cloud solutions. On February 13, PANW just rolled out Cortex Cloud, an AI-powered upgrade to Prisma Cloud that stops cyber threats in real time. It streamlines cloud security, automates workflows, and boosts visibility to tackle the growing risks in cloud environments. It is one of the high growth stocks to invest in.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) pulled in $2.26 billion in Q2 2025 revenue, up 14% and beating Wall Street estimates. Product and services revenue grew 8% and 16% respectively, driven by a 20% increase in subscriptions. Nearly 40% of product revenue now comes from software, with even stronger growth expected later this year. Firewall demand stayed solid and the company expects it to hold steady through 2025. Every region saw double digit growth, with record-breaking $50 million plus deals in EMEA and JPAC. The American federal market also remained stable, just as expected.

Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 83 funds were bullish on Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 64 funds in the preceding quarter.

Overall, PANW ranks 12th on our list of the best high growth large cap stocks to invest in. While we acknowledge the potential of PANW to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. 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: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.