Operational strength to drive story at Indivior, Citi says

Indivior shares were sharply higher after Reckitt Benckiser said late on Monday that it will withdraw a $1.4bn claim against the company. Indivior has agreed to pay the consumer goods giant $50m to end the legal battle related to a US probe into opioid addition.

Citi said that after a long period of litigation dominating the debate, firstly with Department of Justice indictment and more recently with a claim from Reckitt, the stock should now benefit from "the demonstrated progress in the last year".

The bank said the rollout of Sublocade is regaining momentum after a Covid-related stall, while Suboxone film continues its "resilient" performance against branded and generic competitors.

In addition, Perseris has similarly staged a recovery from Covid-related rollout issues, Citi said.

It also expects the recent UK Supreme Court ruling on buprenorphine prescribing to provide a further tailwind to market volumes in 2021.

The bank reiterated its ‘buy’ rating on the shares and lifted the price target to 185p.

"Given the recent operational progress, we expect the shares to recover today to at least the highest level after the DoJ settlement and before the RB claim was announced in November," it said.

At 0950 GMT, Indivior shares were up 12.9% at 144.40p.