Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Fair Value Measurements

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Fair Value Measurements
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]  
Fair Value Measurements
4. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Assets and liabilities recorded at fair value in the balance sheets are categorized based upon the level of judgment associated with the inputs used to measure their fair value. For certain of our financial instruments including amounts receivable and accounts payable the carrying values approximate fair value due to their short-term nature.

ASC 820 “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” specifies a hierarchy of valuation techniques based on whether the inputs to those valuation techniques are observable or unobservable. In accordance with ASC 820, these inputs are summarized in the three broad level listed below:

 

   

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

 

   

Level 2 – Other significant inputs that are observable through corroboration with market data (including quoted prices in active markets for similar securities).

 

   

Level 3 – Significant unobservable inputs that reflect management’s best estimate of what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.

As quoted prices in active markets are not readily available for certain financial instruments, we obtain estimates for the fair value of financial instruments through third-party pricing service providers.

In determining the appropriate levels, we performed a detailed analysis of the assets and liabilities that are subject to ASC 820.

We invest our excess cash in accordance with investment guidelines that limit the credit exposure to any one financial institution other than securities issued by the U.S. Government. These securities are not collateralized and mature within one year.

A description of the valuation techniques applied to our financial instruments measured at fair value on a recurring basis follows.

Financial Instruments

Cash

Significant amounts of cash are held on deposit with large well established U.S. and Canadian financial institutions.

 

U.S. Government and Agency Securities

U.S. Government Securities U.S. government securities are valued using quoted market prices. Valuation adjustments are not applied. Accordingly, U.S. government securities are categorized in Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy.

U.S. Agency Securities U.S. agency securities are comprised of two main categories consisting of callable and non-callable agency issued debt securities. Non-callable agency issued debt securities are generally valued using quoted market prices. Callable agency issued debt securities are valued by benchmarking model-derived prices to quoted market prices and trade data for identical or comparable securities. Actively traded non-callable agency issued debt securities are categorized in Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. Callable agency issued debt securities are categorized in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

Corporate and Other Debt

Corporate Bonds and Commercial Paper The fair value of corporate bonds and commercial paper is estimated using recently executed transactions, market price quotations (where observable), bond spreads or credit default swap spreads adjusted for any basis difference between cash and derivative instruments. The spread data used are for the same maturity as the bond. If the spread data does not reference the issuer, then data that reference a comparable issuer are used. When observable price quotations are not available, fair value is determined based on cash flow models with yield curves, bond or single name credit default swap spreads and recovery rates based on collateral values as significant inputs. Corporate bonds and commercial paper are generally categorized in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy; in instances where prices, spreads or any of the other aforementioned key inputs are unobservable, they are categorized in Level 3 of the hierarchy.

Warrants

As of March 31, 2014, we recorded a $0.9 million warrant liability. We reassess the fair value of the common stock warrants at each reporting date utilizing a Black-Scholes pricing model. Inputs used in the pricing model include estimates of stock price volatility, expected warrant life and risk-free interest rate. The computation of expected volatility was based on the historical volatility of shares of our common stock for a period that coincides with the expected life of the warrants. Warrants are categorized in Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. A small change in the estimates used may have a relatively large change in the estimated valuation.

The following table presents information about our assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques we utilized to determine such fair value (in thousands):

 

March 31, 2014

   Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Assets

           

Cash

   $ 15,348       $ —         $ —         $ 15,348   

Money market securities

     13,282         —           —           13,282   

Restricted cash

     251         —           —           251   

Corporate bonds and commercial paper

     —           8,922         —           8,922   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 28,881       $ 8,922       $ —         $ 37,803   

Liabilities

           

Warrants

   $ —         $ —         $ 935       $ 935   

 

The following table presents the changes in fair value of our total Level 3 financial liabilities for the three months ended March 31, 2014. There have been no transfers of assets or liabilities to or from level 3 (in thousands):

 

     Liability at
December 31,
2013
     Unrealized
Loss on
warrants
     Liability at
March 31,
2014
 

Warrant liability

   $ 214       $ 721       $ 935   

Marketable securities consist of the following (in thousands):

 

     Amortized
Cost
     Gross
Unrealized
Gains
     Gross
Unrealized
Losses
     Estimated
Fair Value
 

March 31, 2014

           

Cash

   $ 15,348       $ —         $ —         $ 15,348   

Money market securities

     13,282         —           —           13,282   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total cash and cash equivalents

   $ 28,630       $ —         $ —         $ 28,630   

Money market securities

     251         —           —           251   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total restricted cash

   $ 251       $ —         $ —         $ 251   

Corporate bonds and commercial paper

     8,921         1         —           8,922   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total short-term investments

   $ 8,921       $ 1       $ —         $ 8,922   

Our gross realized gains and losses on sales of available-for-sale securities were not material for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013.

All securities included in cash and cash equivalents had maturities of 90 days or less at the time of purchase. All securities included in short-term investments have maturities of within one year of the balance sheet date. The cost of securities sold is based on the specific identification method.

We only invest in A (or equivalent) rated securities. We do not believe that there are any other than temporary impairments related to our investment in marketable securities at March 31, 2014, given the quality of the investment portfolio and subsequent proceeds collected on sale of securities that reached maturity.