In line with the market maxim, "sell on the news," numerous financial media pundits have looked at tomorrow's earnings report from Altria Group (NYSE: MO), and its likely announcement to restructure, as a reason to sell.

Going counter to this, Tony Sagami, editor of The Asia Stock Alert, has just issued a "flash alert" telling his newsletter subscribers to buy in advance of the meeting.

He explains, "Altria is going to report its fourth quarter results on January 31. Sure, Altria will probably deliver a dynamite earnings report, but the stock-jumping news that I can't wait to hear are Altria's reorganization plans."

He notes that in addition to its Phillip Morris tobacco operations, Altria owns 87% of Kraft Foods and 29% of SABMiller, the second largest brewery in the world. He says, "I expect Altria to announce plans to spin-off those two units which should unleash billions of dollars of additional shareholder value."

Indeed, he feels, "It is this reorganization that makes now the time to buy Altria. He notes that Altria has wanted to split up its company for a while, but couldn't because of its tobacco lawsuits. Now, however, he notes, "Those litigation threats have largely been settled or dismissed, paving the path for Altria to reorganize into four separate divisions: Kraft, SABMiller, Philip Morris USA, and Philip Morris International."

A federal judge today granted a group "class action" status in a suit that claims the cigarette companies fooled customers by calling some of their products "light." The argument is simple: The big tobacco companies were trying to sell "light" as safer. Smokers figured that it was OK to have a coffin nail if it was manufactured with less poison in it.

The suit seeks up to $200 billion in damages. If the plaintiffs can show that the tobacco companies planned the whole thing, the suit might take on racketeering status, which could triple damages.

Altria Group (NYSE: MO), the parent of Philip Morris, watched its stock drop almost 5% on the news, down to $78.64 as of 1:55 PM. The company has been trading near its 52-week high of $85.00.

With such a big suit, what isn't Altria's stock down more? Because suits filed in the past seeking damages for heath issues arising from smoking have not won big damages from the tobacco companies. Courts and juries have been reluctant to blame the cigarette manufacturers for people's bad habits, especially when each cigarette package says that smoking will kill you faster than stepping in front of an oncoming train.

While all large suits represent some risk, Wall Street is clearly not betting that there will be a full reversal of the way the judicial system views the liabilities involved in cigarette smoking. Tobacco may be a dirty business, but so far, the actions of cigarette companies are not viewed as criminal.

Douglas McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.