Stock Smackdown: Cramer vs. CAPS

There's no denying that Mad Money host Jim Cramer is entertaining, popular, and passionate. On many occasions, he's even right. So he's smart, funny, and the closest thing to a stock market rock star -- but is he smarter than you?

Cramming for Cramer
The Fool's free investing community, Motley Fool CAPS, aggregates the opinion of more than 140,000 members to assign ratings for each stock's likelihood of outperforming or underperforming the market.

Below, we look at some top stocks that Cramer picked and panned during last week's "lightning rounds" and compare them with how the CAPS community sees their future.

Sources: Mad Money recap and CAPS.

Cramer says
While conditions have improved somewhat in Las Vegas, Cramer thinks that after tripling in value since the start of the year, Las Vegas Sands has just become too expensive:

I have got to tell you, man, I just cannot believe the power of this stock ... Vegas is getting a little better... I like to stick to one horse in Vegas ... and that one is Wynn Resorts ... and I am sticking with Wynn ... but LVS, it has now exceeded my price target ... maybe ... don't buy, don't buy.

CAPS says
Las Vegas Sands operates three gaming halls in Macau, with more than 850,000 square feet dedicated to gambling. Even so, and with more than 80% of the more than 1,600 CAPS members rating it to outperform the market, Timbofittz88 downplays the hopes for a resurgence in Macau:

Too much hype over Macau not enough evidence. Hopefully they stay in business long enough to ride out the recession, I'll be visiting Vegas in November and will reevaluate then. As for now, this is a $12 stock.

This Fool says
Some might crow that this Fool and other analysts have been too timid when it came to recommending Las Vegas Sands as an investment. But not being cautious when a company might be on the brink of default and bankruptcy, as Las Vegas Sands was last year, is gambling -- not investing. Subsequent events may have ended up supporting the "all in" position, but there were too many questions to consider the stock a legitimate buy at the time.

So what about now? Las Vegas Sands seems to have returned from the brink. The Macau gaming industry has returned, too, with revenue growth reported to be more than 50% in September. There's also a bid by the casino to follow Wynn Resorts into the Hong Kong market with a stock offering there, all of which may provide at least a short-term boost to the stock.

Over the long haul, even with the threat of bankruptcy now on the back burner, I think the gambling operator is still a risky bet. The odds of winning haven't improved all that much, particularly with the large run-up in its share price. I'd have to agree with Cramer that there's no need to double down on Las Vegas Sands.

Your say
While CAPS members may stand with Jim Cramer or on opposite sides of the field, the investor-intelligence community is more than what some All-Stars think, even if they are TV personalities. So what do you think? Is Cramer right or off his rocker? There's no need to hedge your thoughts on CAPS, so why not rate and discuss Las Vegas Sands?

Motley Fool CAPS is a great place to start your research. Read a company's financial reports, scrutinize key data and charts, and examine the comments your fellow investors have made -- all from a stock's CAPS page. Best of all, it's free.