Boston Scientific Corp. shares popped more than 8 percent on Tuesday as the medical device maker pre-announced strong revenue growth for the fourth quarter.

Boston Scientific, which employs thousands of Minnesotans at its sites in Arden Hill and Maple Grove, reported revenue of $2.41 billion in the quarter. That represented growth of nearly 10 percent compared to the same quarter last year and nearly 7 percent after excluding the contributions of businesses that were acquired during the intervening year.

Before the announcement, which came amid the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, analysts had been expecting revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter.

The strongest growth happened in endoscopy products, neuromodulation devices and urology sales, which collectively grew by nearly 13 percent to $930 million in the quarter. Pacemakers and other heart-rhythm device sales grew by 3 percent to $560 million, while stents and other interventional products grew by 7 percent to $910 million. The figures are preliminary, unaudited data. Boston Scientific reports earnings Feb. 1.

Tuesday's pre-announcement didn't include income estimates. Wall Street analysts are predicting 34 cents per share in earnings, about 13 percent over the same quarter last year.

Analysts with Leerink Partners called the fourth-quarter revenue performance a "strong beat" that would propel the company's stock. "Looking into 2018, we expect BSX to benefit from the new product cycle such as the MRI-safe high power suite CRM products and meaningfully easier comparisons," Leerink analysts wrote Tuesday, using Boston Scientific's stock ticker symbol. High-power CRM products include implantable defibrillators.

The upbeat revenue report follows news in November that the company was indefinitely delaying the submission of its much-anticipated Lotus transcatheter replacement aortic heart valve to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for regulatory approval. The stock traded down 9 percent the day that news was unveiled.

On Tuesday, Boston Scientific stock closed up 8.3 percent, at $27.96 a share.

Joe Carlson • 612-673-4779