Based on the aggregated intelligence of 125,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, discount retailer 99 Cents Only Stores (NYSE:NDN) has received a distressing two-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at 99 Cents' business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

99 Cents Only Stores facts

Headquarters (founded)

City of Commerce, California (1965)

Market Cap

$526 million

Industry

General Merchandise Stores

TTM Revenue

$1.26 billion

Management

Founder/Chairman David Gold
CEO Eric Schiffer

Net Income Margin (average, last five years and TTM)

1.1% and (0.2%)

Competitors

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR)
Family Dollar Stores (NYSE:FDO)

CAPS members bearish on NDN also bearish on

Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT)
General Electric (NYSE:GE)

CAPS members bullish on NDN also bullish on

Citigroup (NYSE:C)
Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, fully 41 of the 200 members who have rated 99 Cents Only Stores -- some 21% -- believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bears include All-Star disquisitor and borisvolodnikov.

Last month, disquisitor dismissed notions that the downturn is a "dollar store's dream":

People are tired of buying cheap third world junk at the cost of American jobs. A large group of players bought in to a thumbs up rate when it looked like gloom and doom. It's not that bad out there and the cheap stuff breaks sooner than you would think.

In a pitch from later in the month, borisvolodnikov also refuses to buy the dollar store story:

Tiny margins in a space that is flooded with competition. I think an optimistic view of this stock would be market perform. People won't suddenly start going here because money is tight; I think your average American tries to be thrifty as it is, so if they could be saving money in these stores, they'd already be shopping there.

What do you think about 99 Cents Only Stores, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 125,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.