5 Stocks Under $10 Worth Buying

If you've got $10, I have some stock ideas for you.

I've been singling out attractive opportunities in low-priced stocks since my original "5 Stocks Under $10" column 13 years ago, and I've seen plenty of stocks with pocket-change prices generate incredible gains.

There are risks, and they are readily apparent, given recent volatility. There are often good reasons for stocks to be ignored or beaten-down. However, a market rally can work wonders for the unloved with positive catalysts in their pockets.

Let's go over my five picks from March 2009 -- when low-priced stocks bottomed out -- to prove my point.

*Bare Escentuals was acquired for $18.20 a share in 2010. Focus Media was acquired for $27.50 a share in 2013.

The average gain of 589% in five years is pretty remarkable. Yes, it was five years ago when the market was bottoming out, but that still blows away every major market index in that time.

Let's go over this month's picks.

Groupon (GRPN 23.52%) -- $8.36
The daily-deals leader seemed to be trading in the double digits for good last month until a poorly received quarterly report sent it plunging back into the single digits.

But things aren't that bad at Groupon.

Acquisition integration costs have eaten at the company's bottom line, but we're looking at a niche leader that's growing revenue at a healthy clip. Analysts see another year of profitability, with revenue climbing 23% in 2014. Packing $1.2 billion in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet also comes in handy. Groupon may have been ludicrously priced when it went public at $20 a couple of years ago, but now it's trading at more than 50% off -- the kind of discount that usually draws Groupon users.

Allied Nevada Gold (NYSEMKT: ANV) -- $6.39
With precious-metal prices heading higher, it's time to consider having some exposure to the mining industry. Allied Nevada is a gold and silver miner that's on a roll, even before we consider the recent uptick in selling prices.

Allied closed out last year with sales of gold and silver up 59% and 23%, respectively. It sold 858,073 ounces of silver and a record 181,941 ounces of gold by lowering its mining costs per ounce during the period. It expects to continue to ramp up production this year on a cost-effective basis, and when you consider that prices have been inching higher this year, we should see Allied Nevada Gold's profitability explode.

Frontier Communications (FTR) -- $4.99
Chasing high yields is hazardous in the realm of low-priced stocks, but there seems to be some stability to Frontier's 8% yield.

Yes, it's a telecom toiling away in underserved rural markets, and these days a lot of people are kissing their landlines goodbye. However, Frontier has done a good job of replacing that revenue with higher-paying broadband accounts. 

Revenue in its latest quarter didn't impress, dipping slightly to $1.18 billion. However, its adjusted EPS of $0.07 was ahead of both what it posted last year and what analysts were expecting this time around. Improving profitability is one way to keep those hefty quarterly dividend checks coming.   

JetBlue (JBLU 0.35%) -- $8.68
You have to go all the way back to 2007 to find the last time this low-cost airline was trading in the double digits. Investors have historically been bludgeoned for buying into the airlines industry, but this is actually a good time to fly in to a sector where consolidation and an improving global economy have been firming up airfares.

Analysts see JetBlue's revenue and EPS climbing 10% and 35%, respectively, this year. Priced at a reasonable 12 times this year's projected profitability, JetBlue offers a compelling play on one of the few air carriers that generally get rave reviews from customers for its on-board amenities.  

Sirius XM Radio (SIRI -0.98%) -- $3.44
The only game in town when it comes to satellite radio was the biggest winner of this month's column five years ago, but it still offers plenty of upside now that it won't be taken over by its majority stakeholder. 

Sirius XM has been growing its subscriber rolls and milking more revenue from each listener. These may be challenging times with so many free or nearly free wireless alternatives, but Sirius XM's unmatched content and lucrative relationships with all of the leading automakers can't be dismissed. With improving margins and clear paths to expand its offerings, Sirius XM should continue to beat the market through the next five years.

Five for the road
These five stocks aren't trading in the single digits by accident. If I'm right about the catalysts, though, they may not be trading in the single digits for too much longer.

Finding promising stocks while they're still cutting their baby teeth is at the heart of the Rule Breakers newsletter that I write for. You can check it out for free this month with a 30-day trial subscription. There are roughly a half dozen active stock recommendations in the growth stock research service trading for less than $10 at the moment. Check those out, and I'll be back with more on the third Monday of next month.