4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Elan

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 120,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Irish biotech company Elan (NYSE: ELN) has earned a respected four-star ranking. While five-star stocks have been the best performers, our data has shown that four-star stocks still outshine the market by a significant margin and shouldn't be taken lightly; conversely, low-rated stocks have woefully lagged the market average.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Elan's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Elan facts 

Headquarters (Founded)	Dublin, Ireland (1969)
Market Cap	$2.88 billion
Industry	Drug Delivery
TTM Revenue	$949 million
Management	CEO G. Kelly Martin CFO Shane Cooke
Return on Capital (average last three years)	(6.4%)
Competitors	Biogen Idec (Nasdaq: BIIB), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)
CAPS members bullish on ELN also bullish on:	Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), General Electric (NYSE: GE)
CAPS members bearish on ELN also bearish on:	Sangamo BioSciences, Ford Motor (NYSE: F), MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR)

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, some 93% of the 848 members who have rated Elan believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include postbusters and stockdoc00.

Last week, postbusters urged our community to keep the faith:

I've been following ELN for years and have been burned terribly, but each time the stock rises from the ashes to head for the stars. They have such a great success at innovative new treatments that I have to believe they will be back in the fight for the title again.

A pitch from stockdoc00 in September shares that contrarian spirit, tapping Elan as a misunderstood biotech bargain:

A high risk high reward company with a very promising pipeline, in particular for Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis. The recent Tysabri scare that precipitated its sudden drop was a huge overreaction by the investor community. While its fundamentals are not up to par compared with other premier pharma co's, it is way oversold and a great buy at its current levels.

What do you think about Elan, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 120,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.