J&J Shares Tumble On Report Of 'Asbestos In Talc' Criminal Probe

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) shares are down over 5% after Bloomberg reports that, according to people with knowledge of the matter, the U.S. Justice Department is pursuing a criminal investigation into whether Johnson & Johnson lied to the public about the possible cancer risks of its talcum powder...

Shareholders are selling first, thinking later...

(Click on image to enlarge)

While baby powder only accounts for a small fraction of J&J revenues, it is a core brand and the criminal probe, which hasn’t been reported previously, coincides with a regulatory investigation and civil claims by thousands of cancer patients that J&J’s Baby Powder talc was responsible for their illness.

Now, a grand jury in Washington is examining documents related to what company officials knew about any carcinogens in their products, the people said.