Cheap stocks are exciting because they have huge upside potential. They often trade for pennies and are therefore referred to as penny stocks. There are a few diamonds in the ruff for the savvy investor. Research is key in finding good values in the market.

I’ve found 5 cheap stocks that have had great growth over the last 5 years, but yet are still trading at under $10 per share. These stocks could be ready to pop once investors catch on to their growth and income.

Let’s take a look at the financials of each company and see what they have to offer value investors.

MedQuist Inc, symbol MEDQ, is currently trading in the $8 per share range with good earnings and a average P/E ratio. This stock trades in large ranges and has a high volume for a cheap stock at over 25M daily. MedQuist is a medical technology company that provides goods and services to the United States. Its 5 year growth rate is 44.15.

Casual Male Retail, symbol CMRG trades under $5 currently with low earnings per share and a relatively high price to earnings ratio. The 5 year growth rate is 44.41. You may have heard of casual male before in TV commercials. They provide men’s clothing in the US, Canada and Europe.

Friedman Industries, symbol FRD has a high growth rate but the rest of their financial stats do not look appealing. EPS is negative and Yahoo Finance says there is no PE ratio. Not a good sign. There 5 year growth rate had been 40.7 but things may have changed, and it’s important to look deep into the company’s earning to see what has been happening recently. Quick note, Friedman is a Steel company and their CEO recently passed away.

InnerWorkings, Inc., symbol INWK trades about 150k shares per day in average volume. Their five year growth rate is 37.26 and their price to earnings ratio is almost 40. InnerWorkings sells printing solutions to major clients in the US.

NovaMed, INC, symbol NOVA, is a company cexercise/>lose to home. They run the hospitals in my home town, and in many other towns around America. Hospitals may be getting a boost with the new health care changes coming our way. NOVA’s growth rate is 29.62.

There are a few stocks that have had solid growth over the last few years. Where they are headed is anyone’s guess, but the financial stats do not lie. Do your homework and you can find undervalued cheap stocks before the investment companies do to earn a big profit.