Market Report: Indivior enjoys its best day on the stock market

Shares in the FTSE 250 business soared 23.3p or 16 per cent to 171p

A blister pack of pills (FRED TANNEAU/AFP/Getty Images)

Investors had a craving for the addiction-treatment specialist Indivior, which had its best day on the stock market since being spun out of household goods giant Reckitt Benckiser in 2014.

Shares in the FTSE 250 business, whose Suboxone medicine treats heroin addicts, soared 23.3p or 16 per cent to 171p, helping claw back some of the heavy losses suffered in recent months on concerns it will lose patent lawsuits against potential rivals.

The surge came even after the company reported a 9 per cent fall in net revenue to $1bn (£700m) in 2015, slightly better than analysts were expecting. Pre-tax profits were also higher than anticipated at $285m, even though they halved from $561m.

But Indivior, which also had to suspend its dividend, reassured investors by sticking to its full-year net revenue guidance for 2016 of $945m to $975m.

On the wider market, punters cashed in some of their winnings from the previous four days in which the FTSE 100 soared 9 per cent thanks to mining and oil stocks. On Thursday, the blue-chip index retreated 58.37 points or 1 per cent to 5,971.95, with Wednesday’s gainers ending up on the losing side, including a 36.1p decline for Anglo American to 432p.

Reports that Tesco had teamed up with private equity firm Permira for a stunning swoop on rival Morrisons left the FTSE 250 supermarket group 5.2p tastier at 186.7p.

Among the tiddlers, Victoria Oil & Gas gushed 3.13p higher to 40.88p after snapping up a 75 per cent stake in a gas field in Cameroon from Glencore, next to its existing field.

Liberian goldminer Aureus Mining, which came under intense selling pressure in November when it issued new shares at a huge discount, rose 0.38p to 3.38p as it improved gold recoveries at its New Liberty mine.

Elsewhere, stockbroker Jarvis Securities rewarded its shareholders with a 10p-a-share special dividend, boosting the AIM-listed company 7.5p to 335p.

The payout came as Jarvis managed to lift revenues by 4 per cent to £7.6m and pre-tax profits by 7 per cent last year to a record £3.4m, despite torrid conditions for markets and therefore for brokers.