Based on the aggregated intelligence of 135,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, small-cap biopharmaceutical Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARIA) has received a distressing two-star ranking.

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

Ariad facts

Headquarters (founded)

Cambridge, Mass. (1991)

Market Cap

$204.1 million

Industry

Biotechnology

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$7.5 million

Management

Chairman/CEO Dr. Harvey Berger

CFO Edward Fitzgerald

Return on Assets (average, last three years)

(54.9%)

5-Day Return

46%

Highly-Rated Biotech Alternatives

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD)

CAPS Members Bearish on ARIA Also Bearish on

Citigroup (NYSE:C)

Lennar (NYSE:LEN)

CAPS Members Bullish on ARIA Also Bullish on

General Electric (NYSE:GE)

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)

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

Over on CAPS, fully 43 of the 199 members who have rated Ariad -- some 22% -- believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bears include cashsage and the second-ranked player in all of CAPS, UltraLong.

Just three days ago, cashsage succinctly aired out the Ariad bear case: "[Ariad] has a too high valuation compared to its sales potential. It is also loss making at least until 2011."

In a pitch from one day later, UltraLong also showed skepticism over the stock's recent surge:

Twenty times sales figures is simply not justified here with drugs that are 3-5 years out at minimum. Losses continue to grow or stay steady around 50-55M per year so you do the math … they have 12 months of cash viability left before yet another secondary hits the tape. I also get a little giggle in my stomach too when I see a book value of negative 79 cents.

So their cancer drug did well in the preliminary trial stage with 80% of the entire 23 patients … I … I have no words, where's my dart board.

What do you think about Ariad, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 135,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.