(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Friday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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Whitbread, up 1.8%. Barclays upgraded Whitbread to Overweight from Equal Weight, deeming the Premier Inn hotel chain owner one of the most attractive stocks in the hospitality sector following this week's positive coronavirus vaccine news.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Royal Mail, up 4.0%. Credit Suisse upgraded the postal operator to Neutral from Underperform.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Indivior, down 2.5%. The drugmaker said a US federal court in the Western District of Virginia has approved the agreement between the pharmaceuticals firm and the US Department of Justice over resolving criminal charges in the US related to its Suboxone film opioid dependence medication. In mid-July, Indivior agreed to part with USD600 million to resolve the charges with the US Justice Department. In April 2019 a grand jury in the Western District of Virginia had issued an indictment of 28 felony counts against the company related to fraud. In a statement Friday, Indivior noted the federal court has dismissed all of these charges. Indivior could have faced USD3 billion in fines related to the matters. "As previously noted, Indivior is pleased to put this matter behind it and move forward in a manner that provides certainty to its business," the firm said. The stock is three times higher since the start of 2020.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Galliford Try Holdings, up 23%. The construction company said productivity has been at "near-normal levels" since the start of its financial year on July 1, with the construction firm saying it will continue to operate "normally during the second national lockdown" in England. Galliford said it is performing in line with its expectations, with an "excellent" first half-year average month-end cash position towards the upper end of previous guidance of GBP125 million to GBP145 million. "The board expects the group to return to profitability in the first half of this financial year and a resumption of dividend with the interim results," Galliford said. In financial 2020, no final dividend was declared, following Galliford's decision to cancel the interim dividend in March. The full year dividend for financial 2019 was 58.0 pence.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Nakama Group, down 29%. The recruitment consultancy said its recent trading has been in line with management expectations but remains "difficult", and it is concerned about cashflow. Nakama previously had guided for revenue in the year ending March 31 to drop 28% year on year to GBP9.7 million from GBP13.4 million. "The Covid-19 pandemic had an immediate and significant impact on the group's trading activities. The company has utilised a number of government initiatives in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore in order to preserve cash and retain the businesses ability to continue to trade," Nakama said. Rising virus infections has led to a second national lockdown in the UK, which Nakama said means its "market conditions remain difficult".
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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