Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) shares are trading lower Wednesday following reports the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is preparing to remove Juul e-cigarettes from the U.S. market.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, citing people familiar with the matter, the FDA could announce its decision on Juul e-cigarettes as soon as Wednesday. The potential ruling comes almost two years after Juul had applied for approval to keep selling e-cigarettes in the U.S. Altria owns a 35% stake in the e-cigarette company.
In the first quarter, Altria reported a non-cash pre-tax unrealized loss of $100 million, or 5 cents per share, as a result of a decrease in the estimated fair value of its investment in Juul. At the end of the quarter, the estimated fair value of Altria's Juul investment was $1.6 billion.
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MO Price Action: Altria has traded between $57.05 and $42.53 over a 52-week period.
The stock was down 8.58% at $41.78 at press time, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Photo: Vaping360 from Flickr.
