STOCKS TO WATCH: ADC Telecom, Autobytel.com and Cognos

ADC shares will see heavy trading Friday after announcing it will acquire the television broadcast assets of Continental Electronics Corp., a subsidiary of Tech-Sym Corp. (NYSE: TSY) in a cash transaction.

The telecommunications-equipment company said the acquisition would allow ADC to meet the steadily growing demand for television transmitter products.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is expected to close during ADC's fiscal second quarter ending April 30.

ADC said it will acquire all designs and rights to Dallas-based CEC's solid state television transmitters, digital television exciters and other intellectual properties.

ADC shares closed up 3 to 51 ahead of the announcement.

Autobytel.com said late Thursday it will beat Street estimates in its first quarter thanks to strong dealer sales and lower operating expenses.

The online car dealer said it now expects first-quarter sales of between $14.5 million to $15 million and a net loss of between 43 cents to 45 cents a share.

Most analysts were looking for sales of around $13 to $14 million and a loss of around 48 cents a share.

Lorimar said the company's marketing and sales expenses were less than previously anticipated.

"In our last conference call, we indicated that we would increase marketing and sales expenses by $5 to $7 million in each of the first two quarters to support the launch of AutobytelDirect," he said. "Our creative marketing approach allowed us to spend less in the first quarter than anticipated."

Autobytel (Nasdaq: ABTL) shares closed up 1/4 to 7 5/8 ahead of the announcement.

Cognos shares appear poised for a rally Friday after it topped analysts' estimates in its fourth quarter Thursday and set a 2-for-1 stock split.

The provider of data analysis software posted a profit of $21.3 million, or 47 cents a share, on sales of $118.1 million, up 36 percent from the year-ago quarter when it recorded sales of $86.9 million.

First Call consensus expected it to earn 43 cents a share in the quarter.

Its shares traded as high as 71 239/256 in after-hours activity on the Island electronic communications network. The stock closed Thursday's regular trading at 65 5/8, up 3 27/32 for the session.

For the full fiscal 2000, Cognos earned $58.8 million, or $1.34 per share, on revenue of $385.6 million.

Web-based products are driving the company's growth said Ron Zambonini, president and CEO. The number of deals more than $50,000 rose to 415, a 50 percent increase year-over-year, he said. More than 90 percent of those corporate transactions included Internet-related products.