Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Canadian gold explorer Rubicon Minerals (NYSE: RBY) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

Rubicon facts

Headquarters (Founded) Vancouver, Canada (1996)
Market Cap $1.2 billion
Industry Gold
Management President / CEO David Adamson (since 2001)
CFO Robert Lewis (since 2005)
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) (2.3%)
Cash / Debt $86.64 million / $0
Competitors Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX)
Goldcorp (NYSE: GG)
Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM)

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

On CAPS, 98% of the 699 members who have rated Rubicon believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include Jbay76 and All-Star DarthMaul09, who is ranked in the top 2% of our community.

Late last year, Jbay76 tapped Rubicon as a shiny opportunity: "[T]hese folks keep finding more and more gold, more than they expected to. I love those types of surprises, its like owning an ATM machine. ... The recent reports about their discoveries at their F2 site are wonderful signs of good things to come!"

Rubicon's high-grade gold deposits, cheap valuation, and rock-solid financial position are making it an increasingly popular pick. Thanks to its debtless balance sheet, Rubicon sports a low financial leverage ratio, which at 1.1 is lower than rivals Barrick (1.8), Goldcorp (1.4), and Newmont (2.0), as well as Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY) (1.4) and Kinross (NYSE: KGC) (1.2).  

CAPS All-Star DarthMaul09 expands on the stock as a tasty takeover bet:

I bought [Rubicon] and [Brigus Gold] with the hope that some larger miners with significant cash available as the result of their 2010 earnings would be interested in acquiring some smaller companies to help expand their long-term profits. [Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX)] and [Teck Resources] have made some beneficial purchases in the past, which helped with their significant stock rise since 2008. With the pull back in the precious metals sector, this might be a good time for them to make another 40% premium offer on some of these small companies.

What do you think about Rubicon, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!