Cash and Investments in Marketable Securities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Cash and Investments in Marketable Securities

Note 2 — Cash and Investments in Marketable Securities

Cash and investments in marketable securities, including cash equivalents, are as follows (in thousands):

	Estimated Fair Value at
	September 30, 2016		December 31, 2015
Cash and cash equivalents	$	63,295	$	55,570
Short-term investments		190,216		253,374
Total cash and investments in marketable securities	$	253,511	$	308,944

We invest in liquid, high quality debt securities. Our investments in debt securities are subject to interest rate risk. To minimize the exposure due to an adverse shift in interest rates, we invest in securities with maturities of two years or less and maintain a weighted average maturity of one year or less. As of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, all of our investments had maturities of one year or less.

Gross unrealized gains and losses were not significant at either September 30, 2016 or December 31, 2015. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, we sold available-for-sale securities totaling $5.0 million and gross realized gains and losses on those sales were not significant. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, we sold available-for-sale securities totaling $18.6 million and $23.8 million, respectively, and gross realized gains and losses on those sales were not significant. The cost of securities sold is based on the specific identification method.

Under the terms of our 7.75% senior secured notes due October 2020, we are required to maintain a minimum cash and investments in marketable securities balance of $60.0 million during the term of the notes.

Our portfolio of cash and investments in marketable securities includes (in thousands):

			Estimated Fair Value at
	Fair Value Hierarchy Level		September 30, 2016		December 31, 2015
Corporate notes and bonds		2	$	74,564	$	181,969
Corporate commercial paper		2		95,924		61,150
Obligations of U.S. government agencies		2		16,798		7,325
Available-for-sale investments				187,286		250,444
Money market funds		1		62,092		53,728
Certificate of deposit	N/A			2,930		2,930
Cash	N/A			1,203		1,842
Total cash and investments in marketable securities			$	253,511	$	308,944

Level 1 —	Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2 —	Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.
Level 3 —	Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

All of our investments are categorized as Level 1 or Level 2, as explained in the table above. We use a market approach to value our Level 2 investments. The disclosed fair value related to our investments is based primarily on the reported fair values in our period-end brokerage statements, which are based on market prices from a variety of industry standard data providers and generally represent quoted prices for similar assets in active markets or have been derived from observable market data. We independently validate these fair values using available market quotes and other information. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, there were no transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

Additionally, as of September 30, 2016, based on a discounted cash flow analysis using Level 3 inputs including financial discount rates, we believe the $250.0 million in principal amount of our 7.75% senior secured notes due October 2020 is consistent with its fair value.

- 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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