Look Out for Thursday's 2 Big After-Hours Stock Winners

The stock market had a tough day on Thursday, falling sharply as investors once again started to fear geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the potential for higher interest rates from the Federal Reserve. By the close, major market benchmarks like the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.40%), S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.02%), and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 2.02%) were down as much as 3%.

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

Quarterly financial reports continued to trickle in after the market closed on Thursday afternoon, with some of the best-known stocks in the market giving up even more ground. Yet there were a couple of winners that posted strong results. Below, we'll look more closely at how Appian (APPN 3.76%) and Shockwave Medical (SWAV 0.31%) did and what their performance could mean for the broader markets.

Image source: Getty Images.

Appian has the right program

Shares of Appian moved higher by 13% in after-hours trading on Thursday afternoon. The provider of its revolutionary unified low-code platform reported fourth-quarter results that signaled continued growth potential for the cloud stock in 2022.

Appian's numbers kept up the company's momentum. Cloud-subscription revenue in the fourth quarter was up 39% year over year, helping to boost overall sales by 29% to $105 million. Adjusted losses widened to $11.6 million, or $0.16 per share, but the numbers were generally more favorable than many investors had expected. Moreover, cloud-subscription revenue retention rates weighed in at 116%, showing that customers continued to spend more on the platform than in the previous year.

Investors also found Appian's expectations for 2022 to be encouraging. Revenue projections for $444 million to $446 million would represent growth of roughly 20% to 21% from 2021 levels. Cloud-subscription growth of 30% to 32% would also show sustained business success, even if calls for 2022 adjusted losses of $0.80 to $0.83 per share would be worse than the $0.68 per-share loss Appian produced in 2021.

Appian's bounce after hours was well-received, but it still leaves the stock down roughly 75% from its best levels just a year ago. The company will have to restore more of its growth than it has shown in order to reach those lofty heights once again.

Shockwave pushes higher

Elsewhere, sonic pressure wave-treatment specialist Shockwave Medical saw its stock rise 9% after hours on Thursday afternoon. The company's fourth-quarter financial report confirmed its continued boom in sales, and investors hope the upward trend can continue.

Shockwave's numbers were sensational. Revenue in the fourth quarter soared 271% year over year to $84.2 million. The jump in sales came amid the launch of the company's Shockwave C2 coronary in February 2021, along with a boost in the size of Shockwave's sales force to increase marketing and promotional activity. Moreover, Shockwave reversed a year-ago loss with a net profit of $12.9 million for the quarter. That worked out to earnings of $0.34 per share.

The good times should last for Shockwave in 2022, as well, if the company's projections prove to be accurate. Shockwave called for sales of $405 million to $425 million. That would be 71% to 79% higher than 2021 figures. While that's slower than its 250% full-year 2021 growth rate compared to 2020, it's still a sizable rise.

Shockwave has demonstrated that its products are commercially viable. In a fast-growing industry, Shockwave has the opportunity to see its stock keep gaining ground, even if market conditions more broadly remain difficult for investors.