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Fair Value Measurements
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Fair Value Measurements [Abstract]  
Fair Value Measurements

10. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with ASC Topic 820, the Company measures its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at fair value. ASC Topic 820 clarifies that fair value is an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. As a basis for considering such assumptions, ASC Topic 820 establishes a three-tier value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

Level 1—Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.

Level 2—Observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 for similar instruments in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active, and model-driven valuations in which all significant inputs and significant value drivers are observable in active markets.

 

Level 3—Unobservable inputs to the valuation derived from fair valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable. The fair value hierarchy also requires the Company to maximize the use of observable inputs, when available, and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs when determining inputs and determining fair value.

As of December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the fair values of certain of the Company's financial assets were determined using the following inputs (in thousands):

 

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As of December 31, 2011

    Level 1      Level 2      Total  

Money market funds

    $ 19,829       $ —         $ 19,829   
  

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

  

Total

    $ 19,829       $ —         $ 19,829   
  

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

  

 

0000000 0000000 0000000

As of December 31, 2010

    Level 1      Level 2      Total  

Money market funds

    $ 55,465       $ —         $ 55,465   

Marketable securities

      —           32,020         32,020   
  

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

  

Total

    $ 55,465       $ 32,020       $ 87,485   
  

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

  

The Company's valuation techniques used to measure the fair values of money market funds were derived from quoted market prices as active markets for these instruments exist. Investments in marketable securities as of December 31, 2010 were held by a custodian who obtains investment prices from a third-party pricing provider that uses standard inputs derived from or corroborated by observable market data, to models which vary by asset class.