Microsoft – “must-have” shares close to target buy price

Microsoft $MSFT I’ve had on my watchlist for a while with a clearly defined entry price of 390 USD. It’s one of those “must-have” stocks I don’t currently hold in my portfolio. I’m prepared to invest 1.8% of the total value of my USD portfolio once it reaches that level. My long-term target price is 520 USD.

Two main positives for MSFT

1. Dominant position in cloud and AI Azure continues to gain market share and the integration of OpenAI technologies supports accelerating growth in the Intelligent Cloud segment. Growth of around 15–18 % year‑over‑year is expected in the coming quarters.

2. Exceptional financial strength Stable double-digit earnings growth, operating margins around 45 %, massive free cash flow and an extremely strong balance sheet make Microsoft one of the highest-quality long-term “compounder” stocks on the market.

Two potential drawbacks

1. Premium valuation Even at 390 USD the stock trades at roughly 32–33× forward earnings, which means a smaller margin of safety if growth slows or macroeconomic conditions worsen.

2. Regulatory and competitive pressures Antitrust scrutiny, especially in cloud and AI, and strong competition from AWS and Google Cloud could gradually put pressure on margins and growth.

For now I’ll patiently wait for the 390 USD level before opening a position. This approach fits my disciplined, value-oriented strategy—buying quality companies when they’re available at a reasonable entry price.

How do you view $MSFT at current levels? Are you waiting for a better price or do you already have a position open? What is your target price?