Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, athletic footwear maker K-Swiss (Nasdaq: KSWS) has received a distressing two-star ranking.

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

K-Swiss facts

Headquarters (Founded) Westlake Village, Calif. (1966)
Market Cap $448 million
Industry Footwear
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $225.35 million
Management CEO Steven Nichols (since 1987)
CFO George Powlick (since 1988)
Return on Equity (Average Past 3 Years) (1.9%)
Compound Annual Revenue Growth (Over Past 3 Years) (20.7%)
1-Year Return 39%
Competitors Nike (NYSE: NKE)
Adidas

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

On CAPS, 11.5% of the 235 members who have rated K-Swiss believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bears include All-Star Valyooo, who is ranked in the top 5% of our community, and bofors.

This past summer, Valyooo tapped K-Swiss as an unfashionable selection: "This and [Crocs (NYSE: CROX)] are two retail stocks I am shorting with no basis other than negative earnings and the fact that NOBODY LIKES THEM ANYMORE."

In addition to posting heavy losses of late, K-Swiss' top-line has declined at an ugly compounded rate of 21% over the past three years. When you compare that figure to behemoth rival Nike's (5%), as well as other footwear plays like Deckers Outdoor (Nasdaq: DECK) (38%), Skechers (NYSE: SKX) (10.4%), and even the aforementioned Crocs (6.2%), it's easy to see why Fools aren't so high on K-Swiss. CAPS member bofors is particularly bearish and earlier this month, listed ten good reasons to stay away from the stock.

Here are a few of them:

... (3) [K-Swiss'] revenues are down some 13% and future orders are down some 9% year over year for the last quarter.

(4) [K-Swiss'] lost some 50% more money year over year for the last quarter.

(5) [K-Swiss'] attempts to turn itself around with "K-Swiss Orange County" and the "Kenny Powers" TUBES™ campaign look pathetic and weak. ...

(7) [K-Swiss] has always been a small, weak, trendy brand and it was forced into the mainstream without a solid base.

In short, [K-Swiss] is a joke and has no expectation of making money for about year or perhaps longer. Before it has another profitable episode, it is highly likely that [K-Swiss] will drop below $10.

What do you think about K-Swiss, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to protect your portfolio from any undue risk. Staying away from dangerous stocks is crucial to securing your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to flag them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!