Based on the aggregated intelligence of 130,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, cancer drug developer Dendreon (NASDAQ:DNDN) has received a distressing two-star ranking.

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

Dendreon facts

Headquarters (founded)

Seattle, Washington (1992)

Market Cap

$394.77 million

Industry

Biotechnology

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$111,000

Management

CEO Dr. Mitchell Gold (since 2003)

CFO Gregory Schiffman (since 2006)

Return on Capital (average, last five years)

(33.8%)

Competitors

Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT)

Cell Genesys (NASDAQ:CEGE)

CAPS members bearish on DNDN also bearish on

General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

CAPS members bullish on DNDN also bullish on

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)

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

Over on CAPS, 67 of the 223 All-Star members who have rated Dendreon -- or 30% -- believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. Among the bearish population are markhs and TSIF.

In late January, markhs seemed highly skeptical over Dendreon's potential prostate cancer drug:

1. Provenge has never shown much promise. Even if it passes the IMPACT Phase 3 trial, the commercial potential of this drug is questionable.

2. Dendreon has a history of mismanaged and bungled FDA submissions.

3. Too much debt and can't get new capital (along with #1 will keep this a risky stock even if they get FDA approval).

In a more recent pitch from last week, TSIF shares a more balanced stance, but still can't get comfortable with the company's cash burn:

Interesting drugs in the pipeline. Biotechs can spike in both directions based on trials, risks/rewards. Dendreon is holding it's own for now, but the burn rate will mean that if it doesn't come up with something productive soon it will/may have a tough time getting additional capital. Probably not a good call on my part. Red-thumbing the pop as I don't see the immediate cause.

To be sure, a lower quarterly loss of $8.8 million, coupled with a phase 3 trial that showed Provenge reduces the risk of death by 20% compared to a placebo, are what's been fueling the stock of late. The final analysis is expected to be completed by late April, so there's still plenty of room for the stock to rocket, or plunge, depending on the results.

That's just the binomial nature of baby biotechs, but if it has anywhere close to the "10 to 1 risk/reward ratio" that CAPS bull chd1028 anticipates, Dendreon might be a rare low-star stock with some legitimate promise. Just don't make too big of a bet.     

What do you think about Dendreon, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 130,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.