Every week, I take a look at a few companies that lapped their profit targets. Leaving Wall Street's pros with quizzical looks can be a good thing. It usually means that the companies they're analyzing have more in the tank than they figured, and capital appreciation often follows.

Let's check out a few companies that humbled the prognosticators this past week.

We'll start with Big Lots (NYSE:BIG). The retailer that moves overstocks, clearances, and distressed inventory from manufacturers and other stores was much more in demand than some of its wares. Big Lots earned $0.94 a share in its fiscal fourth quarter, or $0.83 per share from continuing operations. Wall Street was banking on only $0.70 per share.

AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) was another highflier. The maker of unmanned aircraft -- a hot commodity at a time when military-robotics specialists like iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT) are working on less troop-intensive and troop-endangering battlefield products -- soared in its first quarterly report since going public back in January.

Net income more than doubled to $0.57 a share for its quarter that ended in January. Analysts figured that AeroVironment would be good for only $0.25 a share in profitability. Growth investors can probably appreciate the importance of having a few market-thumping quarters early in a company's publicly traded life.

Then we have Omrix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:OMRI). The biotech star earned $0.41 a share in its latest quarter, well above the $0.28 per share that the market had been expecting. Omrix was fueled by brisk sales of its Evicel and Quixil drugs. Omrix was one of last year's top-performing IPOs, and it has continued to fare well this year as a Rule Breakers newsletter recommendation.

So keep watching the companies that surpass expectations. Over time, it will be a rewarding experience for investors as the market rewards the overachievers. That's the kind of surprise we look for in the Rule Breakers newsletter service. Want in? Check out a 30-day trial subscription.

Either way, come back next Monday to learn about more stocks that blew the market away.

Omrix and iRobot are Rule Breakers recommendations. Check out the service that seeks out the market's best movers and shakers -- it's free with no obligation for the first 30 days.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is a fan of toppers. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.