Altria Inc. shares slid 8.6% Wednesday, after a report that the Food and Drug Administration is preparing to order Juul Labs Inc. to take its e-cigarettes off the U.S. market. The report by the Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter who said the decision could come as early as Wednesday. The marketing denial order would follow a nearly two-year review of data presented by the vaping company, which sought authorization for its tobacco- and menthol-flavored products to stay on the U.S. market. Juul has been under regulatory scrutiny since is fruity flavors and marketing were blamed for a spike in teenage vaping. Altria paid $12.8 billion in 2018 to acquire a 35% stake in Juul that valued the company at about $35 billion. Since then, Altria has written down the value of the stake to $1.6 billion as of March 31. Altria shares have fallen 12% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has fallen 21%.
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