10 stocks under $10: A bargain hunt for your portfolio

One of Thomas Jefferson's "Ten Rules" is: "Never buy what you don't want because it is cheap." I've had plenty of $8 shirts and $3 CDs that serve as haunting reminders of this axiom. (Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch? Oh, who am I kidding ... I did want that).

But there's a time and a place for a good bargain. Finding out your local museum offers free visits. Going out to eat on weeknights to score bargain prix-fixe dinners. Taking advantage of the day-after-Thanksgiving sales, torturous though they are.

The same wisdom applies to stock trading. An investor shouldn't scoop up 100 shares of company XYZ just because its price looks like a steal (it could, after all, be cheap for a reason). But there are single-digit stocks that happen to be beckoning for a breakout or ripe for a recovery. Move in at the right time, and you could wind up with a hidden gem for a bargain price ... just like my Marky Mark CD.

In the next few days, I'll be looking at 10 stocks below the $10 threshold that look like decent plays right now. Some will be short-term opportunities; others will be better suited for those who prefer to buy and hold. Naturally, these stocks probably won't all be winners -- consider some on par with those unworn clearance-rack shirts I've long since taken to Goodwill. But for those who say sub-$10 stocks aren't worth the certificates they are printed on, you may just learn something.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.