SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) _ Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter profit of $159 million.

On a per-share basis, the San Jose, California-based company said it had net income of $2. Earnings, adjusted for stock option expense and non-recurring costs, were $2.61 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.14 per share.

The maker of the Invisalign tooth-straightening system posted revenue of $834.5 million in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $786.3 million.

For the year, the company reported profit of $1.78 billion, or $22.41 per share. Revenue was reported as $2.47 billion.

Align Technology shares have climbed 2% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $546.18, more than doubling in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ALGN at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ALGN

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