A sputtering economy, implosions at financial institutions, or just plain bad management -- on any given day, investors can name a number of reasons to sell a stock. Yet while panic is never beneficial to investors, it's good practice to play devil's advocate with investments from time to time.

In Motley Fool CAPS, more than 125,000 members have weighed in on nearly 5,400 stocks, sharing bullish and bearish opinions alike.

When looking at technology powerhouse Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) in CAPS, a total of 2,767 members have weighed in on its chances of continued success. I've already plucked out some of the bullish rationale backing Hewlett-Packard today, so here are three counterpoints to consider, courtesy of CAPS:

1. Nowhere safe
HP's printer segment is under attack from rivals, and in the server market, heavyweight Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) is expected to enter the market to bring heat on HP, IBM, Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), and Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ:JAVA). Some CAPS members feel that HP will need to seriously step up its R&D and launch new products to fend off the multiple attacks and stay competitive.

2. Lost its shine
A group of CAPS members think Hewlett-Packard doesn't produce the same quality products that it once did. Like Dell, it faces lower margins in a crowded market full of competition from around the globe. The argument for the commoditization of many of HP's segments keeps many wary.

3. The netbook effect
Falling computer sales are taking their toll on PC makers HP and Dell, as well as chipmakers Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), AMD (NYSE:AMD), and NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), and almost everyone else but Acer, which is leading the low-profit netbook market. In this economy, netbooks are about the only thing gaining momentum, but the damage they could potentially do to margins in laptop sales has more than a few investors shaking in their boots.

Of course, Hewlett-Packard has survived and thrived despite dozens of obstacles in the past. But the question about whether the company's future is as bright as the past is why CAPS is such a great resource to augment your own analysis.

To see what the very best CAPS members are saying now about Hewlett-Packard, just click on over to Motley Fool CAPS and have a look -- it's all free, and even open to your opinion.

More Foolishness: