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Fair Value Measurement
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
Fair Value Measurement
3. Fair Value Measurement

The Company measures its investments based on a fair value hierarchy disclosure framework that prioritizes and ranks the level of market price observability used in measuring assets and liabilities at fair value. Market price observability is affected by a number of factors, including the type of asset or liability and its characteristics. This hierarchy prioritizes the inputs into three broad levels as follows:

 

    Level 1–Quoted prices in active markets for identical instruments.

 

    Level 2–Quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and model-derived valuations in which all significant inputs and significant value drivers are observable in active markets.

 

    Level 3–Valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable.

The Company’s investments are categorized as available-for-sale securities and recorded at fair market value. Investments with maturities of 90 days or less from the date of purchase are classified as cash equivalents; investments with maturities of greater than 90 days from the date of purchase but less than one year are generally classified as short-term investments; and investments with maturities of one year or greater from the date of purchase are generally classified as long-term investments. Unrealized holding gains and losses are reflected as a net amount in a separate component of shareholders’ equity until realized. For the purposes of computing realized gains and losses, cost is determined on a specific identification basis.

At September 30, 2014, the Company’s cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments balances were $60.7 million, $40.4 million, and $10.4 million, respectively. The Company currently has no long-term investments. Cash equivalents consist of highly liquid money market funds and certificates of deposit. Short-term investments consist of certificates of deposit. The Company uses quoted prices from active markets that are classified at Level 1 as a highest level observable input in the disclosure hierarchy framework for all available-for-sale securities. At September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, the Company had $30.4 million in money market funds, which are classified as Level 1 and are included in cash and cash equivalents on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company has no investments classified as Level 2 or Level 3.