Remember Gateway?

"I could see how you could make the case that there's value here," says Adams, who does not own shares of Gateway. "The $64,000 question is, how do you turn it, and how do you realize the value?"

While an attempt to make Gateway fit enough to duke it out in the PC market could be a messy endeavor, Adams says a more promising scenario in the minds of some investors may be liquidating the company, although he says it's unclear who would want to buy Gateway's various pieces.

On the other hand, Current Analysis Director of Research Samir Bhavnani says Gateway still has a lot going for it, including its brand equity.

"Basically, Gateway is a rudderless ship," says Bhavnani, whose firm provides companies with strategic consulting and market intelligence, but does not currently count Gateway as a client. Gateway is suffering from a lack of identity at the moment, but at its core there's a lot to like, he says.

The No. 3 PC maker in the U.S., Gateway generates close to $1 billion in sales every quarter, and has $425 million in cash on its balance sheet.

But the company has struggled to find its niche in a changing PC market, indecisively juggling retail sales, direct online sales and sales to corporations and government with varying degrees of success.