Fair Value Measurements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

4. Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements

Certain assets of the Company are carried at fair value under U.S. GAAP. Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or an exit price that would be paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. Financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value are to be classified and disclosed in one of the following three levels of the fair value hierarchy, of which the first two are considered observable and the last is considered unobservable:


	•		Level 1 — Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.


	•		Level 2 — Observable inputs (other than Level 1 quoted prices), such as quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active for identical or similar assets or liabilities, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.


	•		Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to determining the fair value of the assets or liabilities, including pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies and similar techniques.

The Company’s cash equivalents are carried at fair value, determined according to the fair value hierarchy described above. The carrying values of the Company’s accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate their fair values due to the short-term nature of these liabilities.

The following tables present the Company’s fair value hierarchy for its assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis (in thousands):


	Fair Value Measurements at September 30, 2021:
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets:
Cash equivalents:
Money market fund	$	477,440	$	—	$	—	$	477,440
Marketable securities:
U.S. treasury securities		188,053		—		—		188,053
	$	665,493	$	—	$	—	$	665,493


	Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2020:
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets:
Cash equivalents:
Money market fund	$	39,006	$	—	$	—	$	39,006
	$	39,006	$	—	$	—	$	39,006

The money market fund was valued by the Company based on quoted market prices, which represent a Level 1 measurement within the fair value hierarchy.

The U.S treasury securities were valued by the Company based on Level 1 inputs. In determining the fair value of the U.S. treasury securities, the Company relied on quoted prices for identical securities in active markets.

There were no changes to the valuation methods during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, during the three months ended September 30, 2020, and for the period from June 3, 2020 (inception) to September 30, 2020.

The Company evaluates transfers between levels at the end of each reporting period. There were no transfers into or out of Level 3 fair value measurements during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, during the three months ended September 30, 2020, and for the period from June 3, 2020 (inception) to September 30, 2020.

- 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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