Note 4 - Marketable Securities

6 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Notes to Financial Statements

Investments in Debt and Marketable Equity Securities (and Certain Trading Assets) Disclosure [Text Block]

4. Marketable Securities

Marketable securities and investments in available-for-sale securities at September 30, 2015 consisted of investments in publicly traded companies held for sale with a fair market value of $6,276,000, an aggregate cost basis of $7,353,000, gross unrealized gains aggregating $48,000 and gross unrealized losses aggregating $1,125,000. Marketable securities at March 31, 2015 consisted of investments with a fair value of $5,279,000, an aggregate cost basis of $5,490,000, gross unrealized gains aggregating $0 and gross unrealized losses aggregating $211,000. Securities in a loss position at September 30, 2015 had a fair market value of $4,888,000 and had been in a continuous loss position in the amount of $1,052,000 for less than twelve months and securities in a loss position in the amount of $73,000 for greater than twelve months had a fair value of $1,216,000. Securities in a loss position at March 31, 2015 had a fair value of $4,168,000 and had been in a continuous loss position in the amount of $176,000 for less than twelve months and securities in a loss position in the amount of $35,000 for greater than twelve months had a fair value of $1,111,000. The Company realized gains of $0 from the sale of securities during the three and six-month period ended September 30, 2015 and $8,000 for the six-month period ended September 30, 2014. The marketable securities held by the Company as of September 30, 2015 and March 31, 2015 are classified as available for sale securities. The Company does not intend to liquidate marketable securities holdings in Insignia Systems, Inc. (“Insignia”) within twelve months; as a result, the fair value of marketable securities in Insignia were reclassified from current to non-current assets during the quarter ended June 30, 2015 and are reported as investments in available-for-sale securities at September 30, 2015. Investments in Insignia at September 30, 2015 had an aggregate cost basis of $5,056,000 and sustained gross unrealized losses aggregating $920,000. All securities are priced using publicly quoted market prices and are considered Level 1 fair value measurements.