Kim Bolton top picks for this week put the spotlight on three familiar names in enterprise technology: Snowflake, Palo Alto Networks, and CrowdStrike. As president and portfolio manager at Black Swan Dexteritas, Bolton has spent the past few weeks navigating a volatile market. Consequently, his latest outlook blends caution with a clear buy-the-dip strategy for high-quality tech names.

Market Outlook: Why BSD Is Buying the Dip

In mid-June 2026, the BSD team hedged about one-third of the BSD Global Tech Hedge Fund’s stock portfolio, along with roughly the same share of its separately managed accounts. The hedge combined short equity index futures with options on equity index futures. As a result, the fund had some protection heading into a rocky summer.

By mid-July, however, that hedge had grown to nearly 50 per cent of the portfolios’ notional value. Then, in the last week of July, it climbed further to 90 per cent. This steady increase shows just how seriously the BSD team treated the risk of a deeper correction.

On July 28th, the team bought back the hedge entirely. Their fundamental, technical, and capital-flow indicators all pointed toward the same conclusion: the correction was nearing its end. “It’s not often our hedging positively contributes to our returns,” the team notes, since hedging is normally treated as an insurance policy rather than a profit driver.

Looking ahead, BSD expects stock market indexes to consolidate between now and the U.S. mid-term elections. Meanwhile, the firm anticipates a significant rally in December 2026. This timeline matters because it shapes how BSD is positioning the Kim Bolton top picks highlighted below.

Market caution still lingers because of Fed hawkishness and ongoing geopolitical risks. Nevertheless, BSD views the current selloff as an opportunity to accumulate high-quality tech stocks rather than a reason to retreat. In other words, the firm is leaning into volatility instead of avoiding it.

The Trusted AI Stack: Where Enterprise Tech Is Headed

As artificial intelligence moves from pilot projects into real production workflows, a new challenge has emerged. Building smarter models is no longer enough; enterprises now need AI systems that are secure, governed, auditable, and trusted. Therefore, the companies solving this problem sit at the center of BSD’s thesis.

BSD frames this shift through what it calls the Trusted AI Stack, which spans three layers. First, AI Security Infrastructure protects the data, users, APIs, and systems that AI depends on. Second, AI Governance and Model Risk Platforms monitor how models and agents behave. Third, Trusted AI Applications let regulated industries adopt AI only when trust and operational control are built in from the start.

Each of the three Kim Bolton top picks for July 2026 maps directly onto one of these layers. Snowflake anchors the data side, while Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike cover security and governance. Together, they represent a full-stack bet on enterprise AI adoption.

Kim Bolton Top Picks: Snowflake, Palo Alto Networks, and CrowdStrike

Snowflake (SNOW, NYSE)

Snowflake Inc. is an American cloud-based artificial intelligence data platform company. Its cloud-native platform allows enterprises to build, use, and share data at scale. Because of this flexibility, Snowflake has become a core infrastructure choice for companies modernizing their data operations.

The company’s major products include the Data Cloud, Snowpark, Unistore, Native App Framework, Snowpipe, and Snowflake Marketplace. In addition, it launched Cortex, a set of generative AI services embedded directly into the platform. As a result, Snowflake now serves organizations of many sizes across a wide range of industries worldwide.

Analysts have named Snowflake among the software companies best positioned to benefit from enterprise AI workload modernization. Its shares rebounded recently as part of a broader recovery across enterprise software. However, heavy share sales by company insiders continue, which is worth watching alongside the bullish fundamentals.

Snowflake’s Q1 fiscal year 2027 product revenue reached US$1.33 billion, representing 34% year-over-year growth. Meanwhile, actual earnings per share for the quarter came in at US$0.39, comfortably beating the consensus estimate of US$0.14. The next earnings release is expected on August 26, 2026.

Over the past 30 days, Snowflake shares gained 7.43%, while the 100-day performance stands at an impressive 79.71%. Given this momentum, BSD suggests buying one-third of a position at around US$270.36, then adding near US$256.84 and US$243.32.

• Price target: US$293.53
• Market cap: US$93.71 billion
• Current price: US$270.36

Palo Alto Networks (PANW, NASDAQ)

Palo Alto Networks is one of the Kim Bolton top picks covering the cybersecurity side of the Trusted AI Stack. Its core offerings include hardware and software-based next-generation firewalls, along with Prisma SASE, Prisma Cloud, and the Cortex AI-driven security operations suite. Consequently, the company touches nearly every layer of enterprise network defense.

The firm serves more than 70,000 enterprises, service providers, and government entities across the globe, with the largest concentration of customers in North America. This scale gives Palo Alto Networks a significant data advantage when training and refining its security models.

The company recently expanded its AI enterprise and agent security capabilities through the introduction of the Idira identity security platform. It also acquired Portkey in May 2026, strengthening its position in AI governance. Furthermore, it partnered with Deutsche Telekom in June 2026 to deliver AI-driven security with advanced sovereignty controls for European regulated industries.

For the fiscal third quarter of 2026, reported on June 2, 2026, revenue grew 31.1% year-over-year to US$3 billion. Diluted EPS for the quarter reached US$0.85, exceeding analyst consensus estimates of US$0.79. Management then guided full-year FY2026 EPS to a range of US$3.77 to US$3.79. The next earnings report is estimated for August 17, 2026.

Palo Alto Networks shares fell 3.92% over the past 30 days, yet they remain up 88.13% over the past 100 days. BSD recommends buying one-third of a position at around US$319.00, adding near US$303.05 and US$287.

• Price target: US$336.70
• Market cap: US$259.99 billion
• Current price: US$319.00

CrowdStrike (CRWD, NASDAQ)

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. is an American cybersecurity technology company based in Austin, Texas. It provides cloud-native endpoint security, threat intelligence, and cyberattack response services. Notably, its AI-native Falcon platform unifies endpoint, identity, cloud, SaaS, and data protection into a single system.

Key modules within the Falcon platform include Falcon Prevent for next-gen antivirus protection, Falcon Insight for EDR and XDR capabilities, and Falcon OverWatch for managed threat hunting. As a result, CrowdStrike serves diverse global sectors, including finance, manufacturing, healthcare, education, energy, retail, insurance, and airlines.

The company recently reported positive near-term stock momentum following announcements about an AI alliance and an EU partnership. In fact, CrowdStrike exceeded sector averages with a 4.57% stock gain over the past month, despite broader tech sector declines during the same period.

For the latest quarter, CrowdStrike reported revenue of US$1.39 billion, above the estimated US$1.36 billion, along with net income of US$27.77 million. Annual recurring revenue grew 23% year-over-year to reach US$4.92 billion. Earnings per share reached US$0.28, beating estimates by 2.97%. The next earnings report is scheduled for September 2, 2026.

• Price target: US$192.38
• Market cap: US$185.13 billion
• Current price: US$181.80

Final Thoughts on Kim Bolton’s Top Picks

Taken together, these three Kim Bolton top picks reflect a coherent strategy rather than three isolated bets. Snowflake supplies the data foundation, Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike protect it, and all three sit inside BSD’s broader Trusted AI Stack thesis. As enterprises push AI deeper into production, this combination of data, security, and governance looks increasingly essential.

BSD’s own hedging history over the summer of 2026 adds useful context here. The firm moved from a one-third hedge in June to a 90 per cent hedge by late July, then unwound it entirely once its indicators signaled the correction was ending. That discipline, paired with a rally forecast for December 2026, frames why BSD is choosing to add exposure now rather than wait on the sidelines.