Based on the aggregated intelligence of 130,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, genetic analysis instrument maker Affymetrix (NASDAQ:AFFX) has received the distressing two-star ranking.

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

Affymetrix facts

Headquarters (founded)

Santa Clara, Calif. (1991)

Market Cap

$349.9 million

Industry

Life Sciences Tools and Services

TTM Revenue

$319.23 million

Management

CEO Kevin King (since January 2009)

CFO John Batty (since June 2007)

Return on Equity (average, last five years and TTM)

(6.5%) and (79.4%)

Competitors

Agilent Tech

Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT)

CAPS members bearish on AFFX also bearish on

Citigroup (NYSE:C)

General Motors (NYSE:GM)

CAPS members bullish on AFFX also bullish on

General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

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

Over on CAPS, fully 74 of the 393 members who have rated Affymetrix -- or 19% -- believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bears include All-Stars zzlangerhans and TSIF, both of whom are ranked in the top 1% of our community.

In a pitch from two weeks ago, zzlangerhans elaborates on the bear case:

I haven't seen anything in Affymetrix's most recent quarterly numbers to indicate that they will reverse their steady decline over the last year. Revenues have been stagnant and equipment sales have actually been decreasing, which is foreboding as the equipment is the driver for reagent sales which represent more than 90% of revenue. As fewer people purchase and use the equipment, reagent sales will decline more sharply and quarterly losses will accelerate. … Affymetrix's problems appear to be competition-related rather than economy-related and therefore this is a good choice to underperform in a future economic recovery.

Just yesterday, TSIF tried to illuminate Fools on Affymetrix's uninspiring long-term trends:

Their major competitor Illumina [Nasdaq: ILMN)] who does have strong margins, good qtr/qtr growth, and despite a high P/E has been virtually bullet proof during this recession. … Now what could be ailing Affymetrix???

What do you think about Affymetrix, 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.