... with the company wiping out as much as 11% of its value, or some $35BN in market cap...

... following a "powder keg" Reuters report that from at least 1971 to the early 2000s, Johnson & Johnson knew that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder, and that its talc product "sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos", and that company executives, mine managers, scientists, doctors and lawyers were aware of the deadly threat, and "fretted over the problem and how to address it while failing to disclose it to regulators or the public."

Curiously, the last time shares of the drugmaker came under this much pressure was due to asbestos concerns back in February, after traders circulated a blog post focused on worries about what might be uncovered during litigation Bloomberg reports. The shares fell as much as 11% that day, even as Wells Fargo - who else - called the concerns overblown. Analyst Lawrence Biegelsen said at the time that approximately 5,500 talc cases nationwide could create a total liability to the drugmaker of just $1.5 billion.