Confidentiality Obligation in Ethical Standards

As a fundamental ethical responsibility, the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct emphasizes the importance of maintaining confidentiality concerning client information. Consider the following scenario:

Maria is a CFA charterholder working as a financial analyst for a large investment firm. During her research, she discovers confidential information about a company that her firm is about to engage in a merger with. Although this information would greatly enhance her analysis and recommendations, Maria is uncertain about whether she can share her findings with a friend who works for a competing firm, believing that it might help him in his research too. What should Maria do in this scenario?