Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

4.	Fair Value Measurements

We measure our cash equivalents and short-term investments at fair value. Fair value is an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or a liability. A three-tier fair value hierarchy is established as a basis for considering such assumptions and for inputs used in the valuation methodologies in measuring fair value:

Level 1:

Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2:

Directly or indirectly observable market-based inputs or unobservable inputs used in models or other valuation methodologies.

Level 3:

Unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by market data. The inputs require significant management judgment or estimation.

We classify our cash equivalents and short-term investments within Level 1 or Level 2 because our cash equivalents and short-term investments are valued using quoted market prices or alternative pricing sources and models utilizing market observable inputs. We review the pricing techniques and methodologies of the independent pricing service for Level 2 investments and believe that the policies adequately consider market activity, either based on specific transactions for the security valued or based on modeling of securities with similar credit quality, duration, yield and structure that were recently traded.

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis were as follows (in thousands):

	December 31, 2017
	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Direct or Indirect Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Total
Assets
Cash equivalents:
Money market funds	$	2,274	$	-	$	2,274
Corporate commercial paper		-		3,245		3,245
Corporate debt		-		1,000		1,000
Total cash equivalents		2,274		4,245		6,519
Short-term investments:
Corporate commercial paper		-		5,480		5,480
Corporate debt		-		6,415		6,415
Total short-term investments		-		11,895		11,895
Total assets measured at fair value	$	2,274	$	16,140	$	18,414

	December 31, 2016
	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Direct or Indirect Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Total
Assets
Cash equivalents:
Money market funds	$	2,796	$	-	$	2,796
Corporate commercial paper		-		500		500
Corporate debt		-		-		-
Total cash equivalents		2,796		500		3,296
Short-term investments:
Corporate commercial paper		-		11,465		11,465
Corporate debt		-		7,423		7,423
Total short-term investments		-		18,888		18,888
Total assets measured at fair value	$	2,796	$	19,388	$	22,184

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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