Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, telecom equipment maker Calix (NYSE: CALX) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

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

Calix facts

Founded (founded) Petaluma, Calif. (1999)
Market Cap $226.9 million
Industry Communication equipment
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $351.8 million
Management CEO Carl Russo (since 2002)
CFO Michael Ashby (since 2011)
Trailing-12-Month Return on Equity (13%)
Cash/Debt $49.6 million / $0
Competitors Alcatel-Lucent
Ericsson
Huawei Technologies

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 93% of the 82 members who have rated Calix believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.  

Earlier this week, one of those Fools, All-Star TSIF, tapped the stock's recent plunge as a speculative value opportunity:

They have not been profitable in three years but revenue is up [year-over-year] over 15% each of the last three years, meaning they are in the painful stage of growing expenses to capture market share.

The news that customers are lowering spending comes at a time when the markets are already unsettled. This usually accelerates sell-offs. This is most likely a swing trade unless Calix improves metrics in the next quarter or so. [Price-to-sales] is sub 1 and it's now near book value. All cash, no debt, reasonable cash flow despite quarterly losses. Could be a long term growth story, but highly risky.

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Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.