WASHINGTON: Shares in Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) were down 4.1% on Monday and looked set for their biggest one-day percentage loss since June 2020 after a U.S. judge shot down its second attempt to resolve tens of thousands of talc-related lawsuits.
Johnson & Johnson has now failed twice to resolve talc suits by offloading the related liabilities into a new company and placing it into bankruptcy. Lawsuits had alleged baby powder and other talc products sometimes contained asbestos and caused mesothelioma, ovarian cancer and other cancers.
J&J has said its talc products are safe and do not contain asbestos. The company said it would appeal Friday's dismissal, which imperils a proposed $8.9 billion settlement aimed at stopping new lawsuits.
In January a U.S. appeals court had also shot down J&J's earlier attempt to offload lawsuits via bankruptcy, in the first major repudiation of an emerging legal strategy with the potential to upend U.S. corporate liability law.
"In our view the talc litigation remains an overhang on the stock," wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Terence Flynn in a research note after Friday's ruling.
The stock last traded at $167.33 after hitting its lowest level since July 20.
Flynn, who rates J&J stock 'equal-weight,' has a $187 price target on the stock compared with the median Wall Street price target of $180, according to Refinitiv which shows 23 analysts covering J&J.
In August 2022 J&J said it would stop selling talc-based baby powder globally in 2023, more than two years after it ended U.S. sales of the product.