Monsanto Stock Price Plummets After Cancer Rulings

Bayer might be regretting buying Monsanto, as Roundup liabilities add up

Bayer may be regretting its acquisition of Monsanto after two major court rulings regarding the carcinogenic nature of  Roundup, along with news of the weedkiller’s presence in kids’ cereals.

All the bad publicity is hurting Bayer’s bottom line.

The company’s stock price dropped 10 percent immediately after a California jury blamed glyphosate — the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller — for the cancer of a dying groundskeeper.

The landmark case accused Monsanto of hiding evidence of the carcinogenic nature of its product for decades, and opens the company up to litigation by thousands of cancer survivors in line to sue Monsanto:

The World Health Organization categorizes it as a probable carcinogen and the State of California recently added it to a list of “known” carcinogens.

Last Wednesday, the California Supreme Court turned down Bayer’s attempt to keep Roundup’s name off of that list.

The same day, the Environmental Working Group released a report revealing dangerously high levels of glyphosate in kids’ oat cereals, oatmeal and granola bars.

The following day Bayer’s share price fell another 6 percent.

So far, Bayer stock has lost more than 18 percent of its value in the last two weeks, it’s lowest value in more than five years.

Meanwhile, glyphosate is also facing a ban in Brazil.

RELATED: Roundup Found in Popular Kid Cereals, Oatmeal and Granola Bars