Fair value measurements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

The Company has certain financial assets and liabilities recorded at fair value which have been classified as Level 1 or 2 within the fair value hierarchy as described in the accounting standards for fair value measurements.

The authoritative guidance for fair value measurements defines fair value as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or the most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Market participants are buyers and sellers in the principal market that are (i) independent, (ii) knowledgeable, (iii) able to transact, and (iv) willing to transact. The guidance prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value into the following hierarchy:


•	Level 1- Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;


•	Level 2- Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are either directly or indirectly observable; and


•	Level 3- Unobservable inputs in which little or no market activity exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing.

The following tables summarize the assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis (in thousands):



	September 30, 2016
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents:
Cash	$	989	$	989	$	—	$	—
Money market funds	18,813		18,813		—		—
Total cash and cash equivalents	19,802		19,802		—		—

Short-term investments:
Corporate debt securities	22,079		—		22,079		—
Commercial paper	31,101		—		31,101		—
Total short-term investments	53,180		—		53,180		—
Total	$	72,982	$	19,802	$	53,180	$	—



	December 31, 2015
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents:
Cash	$	875	$	875	$	—	$	—
Money market funds	18,875		18,875		—		—
Corporate debt securities	6,749		—		6,749		—
Commercial paper	22,994		—		22,994		—
Total cash and cash equivalents	49,493		19,750		29,743		—

Short-term investments:
Corporate debt securities	27,622		—		27,622		—
Commercial paper	45,212		—		45,212		—
Total short-term investments	72,834		—		72,834		—
Total	$	122,327	$	19,750	$	102,577	$	—

The Company’s investments in Level 1 assets are valued based on publicly available quoted market prices for identical securities as of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015. The Company determines the fair value of Level 2 related securities with the aid of valuations provided by third parties using proprietary valuation models and analytical tools. These valuation models and analytical tools use market pricing or prices for similar instruments that are both objective and publicly available, including matrix pricing or reported trades, benchmark yields, broker/dealer quotes, issuer spreads, two-sided markets, benchmark securities, bids and/or offers. There were no transfers between fair value measurement levels during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 or the year ended December 31, 2015.

- 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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