“security” defined under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (collectively referred to herein as “Securities”).
Gifts
For purposes of this Policy, gifts or other transfers to Family Members, whether for estate planning or otherwise, or to charities or other third parties, are considered “Trades” within the meaning of this Policy. Gifts are subject to the requirements and restrictions outlined in this Policy and require pre-clearance in accordance with the “Pre-Clearance” section of this Policy.
WHAT IS ILLEGAL AND PROHIBITED INSIDER TRADING?
Generally, illegal and prohibited insider trading occurs when a person who is aware of material nonpublic information about a company buys or sells, or engages in transactions with (e.g. buying, selling, hedging, shorting, swaps, etc.), that company’s securities or provides material nonpublic information to another person who may trade on the basis of that information.
Material Information
Information about the Company is “material” if it would be expected to affect the investment decision (i.e., a decision to buy, hold, or sell securities) of the reasonable shareholder or investor, or if the disclosure of the information would be expected to significantly alter the total mix of the information in the marketplace about the Company. In simple terms, material information is any type of information, positive or negative, which could reasonably be expected to affect the price of Company Securities. Material information is not limited to information of a financial nature; rather, material information can relate to virtually any aspect of the Company's business. Material information is also not limited to historical facts. Insiders can be in possession of material information with respect to a future event, such as a merger, acquisition or introduction of a new product.
There is no bright-line standard for assessing materiality; rather, materiality is based on an assessment of all of the facts and circumstances, and is often evaluated by enforcement authorities with the benefit of hindsight. While it is not possible to identify all information that would be “material”, some examples of information that ordinarily would be regarded as material are: information about the status of FDA filings, status and results of clinical trials, financing efforts, new business deals or collaborations, potential mergers and acquisitions, status of product development, product launches, ability to commercialize products, actual or threatened major litigation, or the resolution of such litigation, significant changes in senior management, cybersecurity incidents or quarterly and year-end earnings.
Nonpublic Information
Material information is “non-public” if it has not been widely disseminated to the public through major newswire services, national news services and financial news services; through a broadcast on widely available internet, radio or television programs; or through public disclosure documents filed with the SEC. By contrast, information would likely not be considered widely disseminated if it is available only to the Company’s employees, or if it is only available to a select group of analysts, brokers, institutional investors or industry participants.
For purposes of this policy, information will be considered public, i.e., no longer “non-public”, after the close of trading on the second full trading day following the Company's widespread release of the information. If, for example, the Company were to make an announcement before market hours on a Monday morning, the information typically would not be considered digested until pre-market on