Long time readers of Smart Tech Investor know that at the heart of our thesis for identifying winners and losers in the tech space is our notion of “innogration”, which describes the synergistic combination of innovation and integration that produces superior products. Companies that do it well are handsomely rewarded, while the ones that don’t will pay a very steep price – or possibly disappear altogether.

The biotech sector is nothing if not innovative, and in this issue’s In Focus article Dr. Joe Duarte submits a hypothesis for why the biotech sector may be primed for a rally instead of the correction so many investors fear. He also had a new buy recommendation for this Medical Profits portfolio that will report quarterly earnings next week, so you may want to take a hard look at it before the news hits the street.

And speaking of integration, in our Sector Spotlight piece Rob DeFrancesco takes a look at M&A activity in the semiconductor industry since consolidation is the quickest way to achieve scale in an increasingly competitive business with shrinking margins.

Rob also reviews Qualys in our Portfolio Update. Qualys was added to our Next Wave portfolio in July before the August correction so its price is about 10% below what we paid for it, but Rob believes it is still a good long term buy.