NuVasive (Nasdaq: NUVA) reported earnings on April 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), NuVasive beat slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue increased. Non-GAAP earnings per share grew significantly. GAAP earnings per share stayed the same.

Gross margins contracted, operating margins dropped, net margins expanded.

Revenue details
 NuVasive notched revenue of $159.5 million. The 21 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for sales of $157.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $151.7 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.26. The 21 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.22 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.26 for Q1 were 30% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.20 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.02 were the same as the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 75.5%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.0%, 100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 0.5%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $162.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.25.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $657.3 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.01.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 168 members out of 187 rating the stock outperform, and 19 members rating it underperform. Among 37 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 33 give NuVasive a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on NuVasive is outperform, with an average price target of $21.71.

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