4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Elan

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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, Irish biotech Elan (NYSE: ELN) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

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	$3.1 billion
Industry	Pharmaceuticals
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$1.08 billion
Management	CEO Kelly Martin (since 2003) CFO Shane Cooke (since 2001)
Return on Capital (Average, Past 5 Years)	(4.6%)
Cash / Debt	$1.1 billion / $915 million
Competitors	Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) sanofi-aventis (NYSE: SNY)
CAPS Members Bullish on ELN Also Bullish on	General Electric (NYSE: GE)
CAPS Members Bearish on ELN Also Bearish on	Ford Motor (NYSE: F)

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

On CAPS, 92.9% of the 956 members who have rated Elan believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include Oaklander and All-Star TSIF, who is ranked in the top 2% of our community.

Just last Friday, Oaklander tapped the recent woes of multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri as a tasty turnaround opportunity:

Elan was hit hard today with some foul news out of Europe, but this shall pass. Tysabri has proven to have a high level of efficacy in the treatment of [multiple sclerosis]. ... Combined with some exciting Alzheimer's treatments coming down the line (Bapineuzumab, et al) and ongoing research into Parkinson's, Elan will certainly return handsomely given a few years.

In a pitch from the same day, TSIF elaborates on Elan as a biotech bargain. Here's an excerpt:

Its primary money maker, Tysabri that it partners with [Biogen Idec (Nasdaq: BIIB)] in producing, has continued to receive warnings that the number of PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a deadly brain disease) cases associated with those taking the drug was growing. ... I am positive on Elan despite this concern, because the effectiveness of Tysabri against relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis is great enough that it should offset the risk. Until something as effective and safer comes on the market, I think Tysabri will continue to be available. Once the risk of being pulled fades then Elan's stock should recover.

What do you think about Elan, 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!