Shares of 99 Cents Only Stores jumped 23 percent this week after two analysts issued reports on the discount retailer, citing unsubstantiated rumors that a private equity firm possibly wanted to take the company private.

Dow Jones Newswires reported on Wednesday that private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners was preparing a bid for City of Commerce-based 99 Cents Only. Shares closed at $12.49 a share Friday, up from $10.05 a share last Friday.

“At this point the buyout rumor is simply speculation,” said James Ragan, an analyst at Crowell, Weedon & Co. in Los Angeles, which has a ‘hold’ rating on the stock. He said the Gold family, which owns roughly 23 million shares, or 30 percent of the company, would not be enthusiastic sellers with the stock at such low levels. Ragan set a price target of about $14 a share as an appropriate valuation.

“We believe it is possible that the Gold family would consider some type of management leveraged buyout, where the company becomes privately-held with the family retaining significant ownership, along with an investor group,” Ragan wrote in a recent report.

99 Cents Only has not reported year-end 2004 results and has not filed a first-quarter earnings report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Both filings are expected in June.

In addition, the company is searching for a new chief financial officer to replace Jeff Kniffin, who holds the position on an interim basis. In March, the former finance chief Jim Ritter resigned unexpectedly after the company found “material weaknesses” in its financial statements and delayed the filings of its annual report, which sparked a major sell-off by investors.

Also at the time, two 99 Cents Only directors, Ben Schwartz and Howard Gold, the son of founder David Gold, resigned from the board because the company did not meet a provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that requires a minimum number of independent directors.

99 Cents Only was once a highflier on Wall Street, its shares hitting $35 a share in late 2003. But it expanded too rapidly and was plagued by problems at its main distribution center in Los Angeles and a failed expansion into Texas.

Officials at 99 Cents Only did not return calls for comment late Friday. Officials at Lee Partners could not be reached.