Based on the aggregated intelligence of 120,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, solar power-cell maker First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) has received a distressing two-star ranking. While one-star stocks have been the worst performers, our data has shown that two-star stocks still lag the market by a significant margin, and should be approached with caution. Conversely, highly-rated stocks have outperformed the S&P.

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

First Solar facts

Headquarters (founded)

Tempe, Arizona (1999)

Market Cap

$9.53 billion

Industry

Electrical components and equipment

TTM Revenue

$1.01 billion

Management

CEO Michael Ahearn (since 2000)
CFO Jens Meyerhoff (since 2006)

TTM Price-to-Earnings (FSLR and Industry)

34.6 and 10.6

Competitors

Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ:ESLR)
SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWRA)

CAPS members bearish on FSLR also bearish on

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM)
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

CAPS members bullish on FSLR also bullish on

Suntech Power (NYSE:STP)
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

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

Over on CAPS, fully 783 of the 3,3990 members who have rated First Solar -- some 23% -- believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bears include CAPS All-Star srk85 and iamgreatness.

Late last month, srk85 noted that the First Solar bear case all boiled down to valuation: "While there has already been a big correction in the price, a few more years of growth at the expected levels are needed to justify current levels."

In a pitch earlier in the month, iamgreatness agrees, tapping First Solar as a classic good business-bad stock situation:

First Solar is a good company, but it is severely overpriced. They make the cheapest panels, but they haven't been generating positive free cash flow. Also, even when you discount their ttm net income (ignoring cap. ex, [depreciation], and changes in working capital) to the present you still see a big discrepancy between the value and the price. This pick might change if they start generating free cash and if the price comes down.

What do you think about First Solar, 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.