Circuit City gets letter from NYSE as shares hover around 30 cents

With Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC) shares plunging below the $1/share level recently, I was amazed the company didn't see any offers. Even in a very tight credit market, the retailer's market cap now stands at a paltry $50 million and change, closing Thursday at $0.30 per share. Is Circuit City a bargain? If so, not a single buyer is biting.

It's probably not a stretch to say that just the inventory inside all Circuit City stores and distribution centers is worth more than the retailer's market cap. Add to that all the real estate the company owns and the buildings, and what else is left? Debt perhaps?

To add to the company's woes, most expectations are for the retailer to have a shabby holiday sales season. It sure isn't a happy Halloween for the retailer, which just last week heard from the NYSE that it is not meeting that exchange's pricing criteria due to its sub-$1.00 share price average over the last 30 days. How is Circuit City going to fix that? The NYSE notice was as of 10-22-08, and Circuit City has 10 days to inform the exchange how it plans to prop up its share price. As of this writing, the company's shares stand at $0.27 with a market cap of just over $45 million. What a nice hole for new CEO James Marcum.