What's up with Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT)? That's the question on the mind of many an investor these days, as we've watched one of America's great growth stories turn into a dud.

Yet there seems to be a light at the end of this tunnel. Wal-Mart looks cheap according to all sorts of metrics, and the company seems intent on solving the public image problems that dog it at every turn. What's more, the roster of Wal-Mart shareholders reads like a who's who of investing luminaries: Warren Buffett, Ron Muhlenkamp, Joel Greenblatt, Wally Weitz, and Bill Nygren.

It's got to be a "buy" now, right? Right?

Not so fast.
Well, not according to our Motley Fool CAPS investor database. Although our new community stock-picking system is still in beta testing, more than 350 investors have already weighed in on Wal-Mart's prospects. And while a solid majority are calling for the stock to outperform the S&P 500, it's garnered just a two-star (out of five) rating. Why? Simply put: A significant chunk of highly rated investors think this stock is going nowhere.

That's because Wal-Mart is relying on growth in China to be a catalyst. But what's there to be confident about? China is a fractious market, venerable American companies such as Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD) and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) still haven't cracked the code, and Wal-Mart's recent experiences in Germany and South Korea show that the company is vulnerable when it comes to adapting its concept to other cultures. Moreover, as a number of CAPS investors point out, Wal-Mart is huge. It would need to add $200 billion in value to double from here. And while Wal-Mart is still an operational wonder, there are doubts about its ability to perform in the market -- save paying a decent dividend.

The other retail giant
 Target (NYSE:TGT), on the other hand, is a four-star stock on CAPS. Long the bane of Wal-Mart's existence, Target has better consumer cache, a nicer public image, and with just a $46 billion market cap, more room to grow. And that's why CAPS investors like it better. While shoppers may tend to end up at Wal-Mart, they actually enjoy their trips to Tar-zhay.

The Foolish bottom line
Of course, maybe this CAPS thing is just a giant contrary indicator. After all, Mssrs. Buffett, Muhlenkamp, Greenblatt, Weitz, and Nygren aren't actively adding their thoughts to the system . that we know of . yet. But gentlemen, if you'd like to, just click right here to join the beta test of CAPS. The Wal-Mart page is here, and the Target page is here. Even if you're not one of these master investors but you have your own opinion on Wal-Mart, Target, or any other stock that you want to share, you're invited to join as well. Everyone's ratings help make the system smarter.

Tim Hanson does not own shares of any company mentioned in this article. You can find his rating in CAPS here, his dad's here, his wife's here, and his father-in-law's here. See? Everybody's joining CAPS! Wal-Mart and Anheuser-Busch are Inside Value recommendations. Starbucks is a Stock Advisor recommendation. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.