Niche healthcare company Artivion (NYSE: AORT) was an outlier of a stock on Friday, rising nearly 6% higher on the back of a far better-than-expected bottom line. After reporting a surprise profit for its fourth quarter following market close on Thursday, the company's shares surged the next day, in contrast to the slumping S&P 500 index that ended the day 0.3% lower.

Artivion, which concentrates on products and solutions for heart heath, posted revenue of $79.4 million. That matched its result for the fourth quarter of 2021. On the bottom line, however, the company recorded a dramatic improvement. According to non-GAAP (adjusted) standards, it booked a net profit of $4.2 million, shaking out to $0.10 per share. That was much better than the $141,000 adjusted loss of the year-ago period.

It also blew past the average analyst estimate -- collectively, prognosticators keeping an eye on Artivion stock were expecting the company to land relatively deep in the red. They were modeling a $0.12 per-share adjusted net loss. As for revenue, they weren't far away from the actual result, with an average estimate of $79.9 million. 

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Source Fool.com