Investments

12 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2012

Investments

Investments

2.     Investments

        Investments consist of the following:

	April 30,
	2012		2011
	(In thousands)
Short-term investments:
Held-to-maturity securities:
Municipal securities	$	49,263	$	—
U.S. government securities		27,889		126,839
Total short-term investments	$	77,152	$	126,839
Long-term investments:
Held-to-maturity securities:
Municipal securities	$	52,261	$	—
Available-for-sale securities:
Auction rate securities		6,196		6,275
Total long-term investments	$	58,457	$	6,275

• Held-To-Maturity Securities

        As of April 30, 2012 the balance of held-to-maturity securities consisted of state and local government municipal securities and U.S. Treasury bills and notes. As of April 30, 2011 the balance of held-to-maturity securities consisted of U.S. Treasury bills. Interest earned from these investments is recorded in interest income.

        The amortized cost, gross unrealized losses, and estimated fair value of the held-to-maturity investments as of April 30, is as follows (in thousands):

	2012									2011
	Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses			Fair Value		Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses			Fair Value
Municipal securities	$	101,524	$	48	$	(24	)	$	101,548	$	—	$	—	$	—		$	—
U.S. government securities		27,889		—		(1	)		27,888		126,839		38		(3	)		126,874
Total held-to-maturity investments	$	129,413	$	48	$	(25	)	$	129,436	$	126,839	$	38	$	(3	)	$	126,874

        The amortized cost and fair value of the Company's held-to-maturity securities by contractual maturity at April 30, 2012, are as follows:

	Cost		Fair Value
Due within one year	$	77,152	$	77,156
Due after one year through five years		52,261		52,280
Total	$	129,413	$	129,436

• Available-For-Sale Securities

        As of April 30, 2012 and 2011, the entire balance of available-for-sale securities consisted of four investment grade auction rate municipal bonds with maturities ranging from 7 to 22 years. These investments have characteristics similar to short-term investments, because at pre-determined intervals, generally ranging from 30 to 35 days, there is a new auction process at which the interest rates for these securities are reset to current interest rates. At the end of such period, the Company chooses to roll-over its holdings or redeem the investments for cash. A market maker facilitates the redemption of the securities and the underlying issuers are not required to redeem the investment within 365 days. Interest earned from these investments is recorded in interest income.

        During the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended April 30, 2008, the Company began experiencing failed auctions on some of its auction rate securities. A failed auction occurs when a buyer for the securities cannot be obtained and the market maker does not buy the security for its own account. The Company continues to earn interest on the investments that failed to settle at auction, at the maximum contractual rate until the next auction occurs. In the event the Company needs to access funds invested in these auction rate securities, the Company may not be able to liquidate these securities at the fair value recorded on April 30, 2012 until a future auction of these securities is successful or a buyer is found outside of the auction process.

        As a result of the failed auctions, the fair values of these securities are estimated utilizing a discounted cash flow analysis as of April 30, 2012 and 2011. The analysis considers, among other items, the collateralization underlying the security investments, the creditworthiness of the counterparty, the timing of expected future cash flows, and the expectation of the next time the security is expected to have a successful auction.

        Based on the Company's ability to access its cash and cash equivalents, expected operating cash flows, and other sources of cash, the Company does not anticipate the current lack of liquidity on these investments will affect its ability to operate the business in the ordinary course. The Company believes the current lack of liquidity of these investments is temporary and expects that the securities will be redeemed or refinanced at some point in the future. The Company will continue to monitor the value of its auction rate securities at each reporting period for a possible impairment if a further decline in fair value occurs. The auction rate securities have been in an unrealized loss position for more than 12 months. The Company has the ability and the intent to hold these investments until a recovery of fair value, which may be maturity and as of April 30, 2012, it did not consider these investments to be other-than-temporarily impaired.

        The amortized cost, gross unrealized losses, and estimated fair value of the available-for-sale investments is as follows (in thousands):

	April 30,
	2012			2011
Auction rate securities
Amortized cost	$	7,350		$	7,575
Gross unrealized gains		—			—
Gross unrealized losses		(1,154	)		(1,300	)
Fair value	$	6,196		$	6,275

        The amortized cost and fair value of the Company's auction rate securities by contractual maturity at April 30, 2012 are as follows (in thousands):

	Cost		Fair Value
Due after five through 10 years	$	1,825	$	1,690
Due after 10 years		5,525		4,506
Total	$	7,350	$	6,196