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.

Circuit City (NYSE: CC), the consumer electronics retailer that has been down in then dumps almost all of 2007, has been upgraded by a Soleil Securities Group analyst to a price target of $13 per share. Right now, Circuit City shares are hovering around the $8 per share level. With Circuit City having more than a few disastrous quarters this year, why the upgrade now?

The upgrade from "Buy" to "Hold" was made by the Soleil analyst based on an anticipated $50 million in savings from a store reorganization plan that's in progress. Not increasing sales, soaring profit or a new marketing program to get customers in doors, but a store reorganization plan. Wow, that's exciting. While it's not organic growth, the savings should boost Circuit City's bottom line in the current quarter. At least, that would be my thinking. Is that enough to justify such an upgrade? That's your call.

Circuit City is a retailer who has lost its way, but still manages to rake in sales every quarter. It can't quite compete (yet) with larger retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) when it comes to profit and making all the right retail moves to ensure success, but it's not going anywhere either unless a private equity buyout happens. Want to get in now?' The Soleil analyst suggests a hedged play on CC shares for those who want to play a little, using an April bull-put credit spread below the $5 range