Pep Boys Jumps 9%+ as Q1 Beats

Shares of the automotive service chain have jumped more than 9% today. Volume for this Zacks #2 Rank ("Buy") stock is approximately 1.5 million, which is higher than the average daily volume of about 626,000.

CEO Mike Odell attributed the improved profitability to higher customer traffic resulting from television and radio promotions, coupled with cost reduction initiatives.

Revenue slipped $1.5 million to $496.5 million, which was ahead of Wall Street expectations.

Pep Boys is in the midst of turning itself around and has been helped by the ongoing economic downturn, which forced consumers to repair existing cars rather than buy new ones.

The fiscal 2009 consensus forecast has risen to 13 cents per share from break-even over the past 2 months.