This column is for investors willing to take more risk and potentially receive more reward.  The stocks mentioned in this column are not recommended to buy or sell.  They're brought to your attention so you can investigate them further to determine if they fit your risk profile.  Most of the stocks will have less than $1 billion of market capitalization, have more volatility than other stocks, and oftentimes no earnings.  And some will have tremendous stories.

April 23, 2010 - Sanmina- SCI Corp. (SANM-NASDAQ) provides integrated electronics manufacturing services worldwide. It offers product design and engineering services comprising initial development, detailed design, prototyping, validation, preproduction, and manufacturing design; final system assembly and testing services; direct order fulfillment and logistics services; and after-market product service and support services.

Sanmina-SCI Corporation works with original equipment manufacturers primarily in the communication, enterprise computing and storage, multimedia, industrial and semiconductor capital equipment, defense, aerospace, medical, renewable energy, and automotive industries. The company was founded in 1980 and is based in San Jose, California.

Hold on to your hat if you own this one. Earnings bounced around like a ball in a pinball machine over the last three years: negative 36 cents in 2007, positive 60 cents in 2008, then went negative again to minus 52 cents last year. But this year, expect some good news. 11 analysts have a consensus estimate of $1.08 for 2010, then see $1.54 next year. First quarter earnings will be out on April 26. Expectations are for 25 cents a share, well above the negative 36 cents of last year's second quarter (fiscal year ends in September). For the third quarter, look for 29 cents, much better than the minus 12 cents of last year's third.

As you might expect, with earnings bouncing around so much, the price will follow. Reaching a high of $93 a share in 2003, the stock crashed to 73 cents by August of 2009 (prices adjusted for a 1 for 6 reverse split in 2009). But as those earnings became positive and substantial, the price rebounded, hitting $18.90 as this is written. In the last 52-weeks, the stock is up 576%. In the last 15 months, the stock went from $1.10 to $18.90. That's a gain of 1618%.

Like all businesses, Sanmina adjusted to a new reality, cutting jobs, consolidating production facilities, and curtailing expenses, especially capital projects. It also is selling a more profitable product mix which will increase both the top and bottom lines. If the global recovery continues, expect good growth from sales and earnings for several years.

Another positive factor for SANM: management reduced debt, buying back $175.7 million in floating rate notes that were to mature this year. Still, the company has 68% of its capital from debt. Management stated it will continue to pare back its debt load as increased cash flow allows.

One concern is the relatively few customers Sanmina relies on. The ten largest accounts did over 48% of SANM's net revenues. The company will need to expand its market share to give investors confidence that losing one or two clients won't impact the firm too dramatically.

More numbers: Price to sales ratio is .28. Price to book is 2.51. Book value is $7.42. Operating margin for the last 12 months was 1.73%. Return on equity was a negative 8.45% while Return on assets was 1.78%. Total cash is $727.5 million which is $9.23 a share. Current ratio is 2.22. Thre are 78.84 million shares outstanding with a Float of 77.47 million. Insiders own 12.34%. Institutions have 75.80%. There is no dividend. The stock split 1 for 6 in a reverse split on August 17, 2009.

Aggressive investors will find this stock of interest. It has a good turnaround story. Earnings are definitely on the mend, growing nicely. But will they continue? Will the global economy gain traction and keep demand high for SANM's products? And that debt load is still pretty heavy. More research required before doing anything with this stock. But with a Beta of 3.39, if investors do get on this volatile stock, they should expect a wild ride.

- Company Web site: www.sanmina-sci.com

- Ted Allrich