2-Star Stocks Poised to Plunge: Iron Mountain?

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of 140,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, document protection and storage specialist Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) has received a distressing two-star ranking.

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

Iron Mountain facts

Headquarters (Founded)	Boston, Mass. (1951)
Market Cap	$5.71 billion
Industry	Diversified support services
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$3.01 billion
Management	CEO Robert Brennan CFO Brian McKeon
Return on Capital (Average, Past 3 Years)	6.0%
Cash / Debt	$316.1 million / $3.24 billion
Trailing-12-Month P/E	44.4
Competitors	Cintas (Nasdaq: CTAS)
CAPS Members Bearish on IRM Also Bearish on	Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) AIG (NYSE: AIG) Citigroup (NYSE: C)
CAPS Members Bullish on IRM Also Bullish on	General Electric (NYSE: GE) Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 13% of the 219 members who have rated Iron Mountain believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bears include SwampBull and All-Star mrindependent, who is ranked in the top 2% of our community.

Late last month, SwampBull helped shred the Iron Mountain bull case:

Overpaying a company to haul off your documents will be recognized as such by clever corporate management looking to reduce costs. As a hedge, try Office Depot -- they sell something called "a shredder". Expect a slowdown in the growth rate and the profitability here.

In a pitch from one day earlier, mrindependent also urged Fools to climb off Iron Mountain:

Although Iron Mountain generates impressive sales growth, its income generation is not equally impressive. The company's average [Return on Equity] for the past 5 years is only 7.5%. In addition, the company's debt level is out of control. I estimate that its net debt is equal to 20 years of profit. Accordingly, I recommend that we rename this company "Debt Mountain". At 2.9 times book value and 30 times estimated 2009 earnings, this company is significantly overvalued. One major insider seems to agree with me. He is selling millions of dollars worth of stock in the $28 to $30 range.

What do you think about Iron Mountain, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. The CAPS community is waiting to hear your opinions. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!