Confluent, Microsoft Deepen Their Cloud Connect

Data streaming platform Confluent, Inc. (NASDAQ: CFLT) announced plans to deepen its partnership with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to smoothen Azure’s management of data streams and accelerate real-time application development on the cloud.

Under the partnership, the companies will be investing in technology integrations, solution development and go-to-market activities.

The alliance between Microsoft and Confluent started in January 2021, under which Confluent’s fully managed Apache Kafka service was embedded into the Azure platform with cloud-native capabilities.

Executive Comments

The President of Field Operations at Confluent, Erica Schultz, said, “COVID-driven disruption has drastically accelerated timelines for delivering end-to-end digital experiences and real-time operations. We are extremely dedicated to ensuring our customers can innovate fast in the cloud, and have deepened our partnership with Microsoft to support businesses at this critical time in their transformation.”

“Through Microsoft and Confluent’s expanded relationship, more organizations will be able to fully realize the power of cloud-native data streaming and benefit from faster development of modern applications with easier access to real-time data in the cloud,” said, Judson Althoff, the Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer at Microsoft.

Stock Rating

Last month, Wells Fargo analyst Michael Turrin maintained a Buy rating on Confluent and lowered the price target to $55 (implying 28.8% upside potential from current level) from $75.

The rest of the Street is cautiously optimistic about the stock and has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on five Buys and six Holds. Confluent’s average price target of $74.55 implies 74.6% upside potential to current levels.

Insider Trading

Based on the recent corporate insider activity, sentiments seem positive about the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase in insiders selling their shares of CFLT.

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