Late last year we published a Special Report titled, “Cabot’s 10 Favorite Low-Priced Stocks for 2009,” writing, “buying a few of these more speculative names in mid- to late-December, and holding from two to 10 weeks, can produce outsize gains.”

Well, it’s been more than eight weeks since most readers received their reports, and because I recently received an inquiry for follow-up from a subscriber, I thought I’d provide it to everybody.

Note: Investing in low-priced stocks is tempting but tricky. Our advice said, take small positions, cut all losses short, and take profits on the way up. With those guidelines in mind, here’s how an average reader might have fared.

Three of the stocks brought good profits, with no possibility of loss.

Compellent Technologies (CML), which might have been bought around 9.30, is now at 13.78, up 48%. It can be bought on pullbacks.

Optimer Pharmaceuticals (OPTR), which might have been bought at 8.50, hit 12.43 at year-end, and is now at 11.40 building a base. If you bought in mid-December, you should have taken some profits, but the stock looks good and can be bought here.

Zhongpin (HOGS), which might have been bought at 10.50, peaked at 12.55 at year-end, but then faltered and is now at 10.09. Some profits should have been taken. (The stock’s action is not impressive, but the excellent fundamentals mean it’s still on the Watch List of Paul Goodwin, editor of Cabot China & Emerging Markets Report.)

Four of the stocks did very well, and could have provided you with some profit if handled carefully.

Harmony Gold (HMY), which might have been bought at 9.5, is now at 12.02, but brief dips below 9 might have knocked you out with a small loss.

Orion Marine (OMGI), which might have been bought at 8, peaked at 10.26, pulled back to 8.16, and is now at 9.73, looking healthy.

Fuqi International (FUQI), which might have been bought at 6.70, peaked at 7.89 but is now down to 4.77 and looking bad.

Vaalco Energy (EGY), which might have been bought at 6.50, quickly fell to 5.50 but then zoomed to 8.47! It’s now at 8.11 and looking good.

And three stocks did poorly.

Airtran (AAI), which might have been bought at 4.75, hasn’t done much and is now at 4.3, looking a bit anemic.

99 Cents Only Stores (NDN), which might have been bought at 11.00, bottomed at 6.86 and is now at 7.81, still looking unhealthy.

Silicon Image (SIMG), which might have been bought at 5.00, bottomed at 2.57 and has bounced up to 3.49, but we’re not impressed.

Overall, my analysis says an average investor who bought all 10 stocks and followed the instructions above, cutting losses short at 15%, might have earned an average profit of 13%, not bad at all for two months at the bottom of a bear market. No doubt some readers did better and some did worse. If you’re among the former, congratulations. If you’re among the latter, I suggest you take the time to review your actions, and determine whether you simply chose the wrong stocks or chose the right stocks but bought and sold at the wrong time. The goal of such analysis, of course, is to become a better investor.