Orbital Sciences (NYSE: ORB) filed its 10-K on Feb. 29. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Orbital Sciences missed estimates on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue contracted and GAAP earnings per share contracted significantly.

Gross margins improved, operating margins shrank, net margins shrank.

Revenue details
Orbital Sciences notched revenue of $335.5 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected sales of $358.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 3.1% lower than the prior-year quarter's $346.1 million.

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

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.27. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.20 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.29 for Q4 were 19% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.36 per share.

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 24.6%, 280 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 6.6%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 5.2%, 90 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $345.9 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.23.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.49 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.02.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 341 members out of 354 rating the stock outperform, and 13 members rating it underperform. Among 101 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 99 give Orbital Sciences a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Orbital Sciences is buy, with an average price target of $24.00.

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