Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM, -3.85% dropped 2.3% in premarket trading Friday, putting them on track for their first decline in 10 sessions, after The Wall Street Journal reported the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation into allegations that an employee of the oil giant overstated the value of a key Permian Basin asset. Citing people familiar with the matter, the WSJ report said several people involved in valuing the asset complained that they were being forced to use unrealistic assumptions about how quickly the company could drill wells in the Permian Basin to arrive at a higher value. At least one employee how complained was fired last year, the WSJ report said. Exxon Mobil’s stock had soared 22.1% amid a 9-day win streak, to close Thursday at a 7-month high. It has run up 46.0% over the past three months through Thursday, while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF XLE, -2.65% has advanced 44.0% and the S&P 500 SPX, -0.26% has gained 9.0%.
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