these inducement awards cover an aggregate of up to 43,567 common shares each to ms. may and mr. cox if earnings targets for shippingeasy are achieved over a two and one-half year period beginning july 1 , 2016. the awards are subject to proration if at least 75 % of the applicable target is achieved and are subject to forfeiture or acceleration based on changes in employment circumstances over the performance period . the awards were a material inducement to ms. may and mr. cox entering into employment agreements with stamps.com in connection with the acquisition . we also issued inducement stock option grants for an aggregate of 62,000 shares of stamps.com common stock to 48 new employees in connection with our acquisition of shippingeasy . the stock options were granted as inducements material to the new employees entering into employment with stamps.com . endicia on march 22 , 2015 we entered into a stock purchase agreement ( the “ stock purchase agreement ” ) with psi systems , inc. , a california corporation d/b/a endicia ( “ endicia ” ) , and newell rubbermaid inc. , a delaware corporation ( “ newell ” ) . endicia , based in mountain view , california , offers mailing and shipping solutions for use with the usps . the stock purchase agreement provided for our purchase of all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of endicia from a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of newell for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $ 215 million in cash ( the “ transaction ” ) . the purchase price was subject to adjustment for changes in endicia 's net working capital as of the date of the closing of the transaction and certain transaction expenses and closing cash adjustments . after receiving regulatory clearance , we closed the transaction on november 18 , 2015. as part of the funding for our acquisition of endicia , we entered into a credit agreement with a group of banks on november 18 , 2015 , which provides for a term loan of $ 82.5 million and a revolving credit facility with a maximum borrowing of $ 82.5 million ( collectively , the “ credit agreement ” ) . the credit agreement is secured by substantially all our assets . we funded our acquisition with cash of $ 56.5 million and debt from our credit agreement of $ 164.5 million , totaling $ 221.0 million . the $ 221.0 million consists of the following : 1 ) purchase price of $ 214.2 million , 2 ) $ 1.5 million of debt issuance costs and 3 ) the transfer of endicia 's ending cash balance on november 17 , 2015 of $ 5.3 million . total debt issuance costs of $ 1.8 million , which includes $ 300 thousand of costs incurred prior to closing , were recorded as debt discount and are being accreted as interest expense over the life of the credit agreement . our credit agreement matures on november 18 , 2020. during the first quarter of 2016 , we adjusted the purchase price of endicia by $ 573,000 to $ 214.7 million . 34 shipworks on august 29 , 2014 , we acquired 100 % of the outstanding equity of interapptive , inc. , which operates shipworks , in a cash transaction . shipworks , based in st. louis , missouri , offers software-based multi-carrier shipping solutions . the total purchase price for shipworks was approximately $ 22.1 million and was funded from cash and investment balances . shipstation on june 10 , 2014 , we acquired 100 % of the outstanding equity of auctane llc , which operates shipstation , in a cash and contingent stock transaction . shipstation , based in austin , texas , offers web-based multi-carrier shipping solutions primarily under the brands shipstation and auctane . the total purchase price for shipstation was approximately $ 66.2 million which was funded from cash and investment balances . the performance linked earn-out payment of stamps.com shares ( or contingent consideration ) to former equity members of auctane llc was based on the achievement of certain financial measures within time periods subsequent to the acquisition . there were two periods in which the earn-out payment was calculated . the first earn-out period was based on the achievement of certain financial measures during the six months ended december 31 , 2014. the second earn-out period was based on the achievement of certain financial measures during the twelve months ended december 31 , 2015. shipstation achieved the financial measures for both earn-out periods and , as a result , we made earn-out payments of 192,225 shares in the first quarter of 2015 and 576,675 shares in the first quarter of 2016. under asc 805 , business combinations , we were required to re-measure the fair value of the contingent consideration at each reporting period . as a result of the re-measured fair value , we incurred contingent consideration charges in our consolidated statement of operations of $ 8.4 million in 2014 and $ 46.1 million in 2015. please see note 3 – “ acquisitions ” and note 7 – “ debt ” in our notes to consolidated financial statements for further description . results of operations the results of our operations during the year ended december 31 , 2016 includes operations of shippingeasy for the period from july 1 , 2016 through december 31 , 2016 and the operations of endicia , shipstation , and shipworks for the full fiscal year 2016. the results of our operations during the year ended december 31 , 2015 includes operations of endicia for the period from november 18 , 2015 through december 31 , 2015 and the operations of shipstation and shipworks for the full fiscal year 2015. please see note 3 – “ acquisitions ” in our notes to consolidated financial statements for further description . story_separator_special_tag in 2016 , our income tax expense of $ 41.7 million consisted of current income tax expense of $ 8.1 million consisting of federal alternative minimum tax and various state taxes and deferred income tax expense of $ 33.6 million consisting of temporary tax items including utilization of net operating losses , contingent consideration , stock compensation and differences in the book and tax lives of amortizable intangibles . our effective income tax rate differed from the statutory income tax rate primarily as a result of permanent tax adjustments for nondeductible items , research and development tax credits , and changes in state tax rates including the addition and reduction of uncertain tax positions of the prior and of the current year . as of december 31 , 2016 and 2015 , we had net deferred tax assets of approximately $ 48.8 million and $ 57.2 million , respectively . we evaluated the appropriateness of our deferred tax assets and related valuation allowance in accordance with asc 740 based on all available positive and negative evidence , including our recent earnings trend and expected future income . as of december 31 , 2016 and 2015 , we did not have any valuation allowance against our gross deferred tax assets . trend analysis we expect our mailing and shipping revenue to increase in 2017 compared to 2016. we expect our mailing and shipping revenue growth in 2017 to be less than the growth we achieved in 2016 now that we have passed the one year anniversary of our endicia acquisition . our ability to grow our mailing and shipping revenue is partly dependent on our ability to increase our sales and marketing spend to acquire new customers and to retain our existing customers . to the extent we are not able to achieve our target increase in spending and acquire or retain customers , this would negatively impact our 2017 mailing and shipping revenue growth expectations . we expect customized postage revenue to increase in 2017 compared to 2016. we expect our customized postage revenue growth in 2017 to be a smaller percentage than the growth in 2016 , as 2016 reflects a full year of endicia results , as opposed to approximately one and a half months in 2015. high volume business orders for customized postage can fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and therefore historical trends may not be indicative of future results for customized postage revenue . we expect our sales and marketing expense to increase in 2017 compared to 2016. we expect the percent increase in sales and marketing expense in 2017 to be less than the percent increase in 2016 , as 2016 reflects a full year of endicia results , as opposed to approximately one and a half months in 2015. we will continue to monitor our customer metrics and the state of the economy and adjust our level of spending accordingly . sales and marketing spend is expensed in the period incurred , while the revenue and profits associated with the acquired customers are earned over the customers ' lifetimes . as a result , increased sales and marketing spend in future periods could result in a reduction in operating profit and cash flow compared to past periods . we expect research and development expenses to be higher in 2017 as compared to 2016. we expect the percent increase in research and development expense in 2017 to be less than the percent increase in 2016 , as 2016 reflects a full year of endicia results , as opposed to approximately one and a half months in 2015. we expect to hire additional research and development personnel in 2017. we expect general and administrative expenses to be higher in 2017 as compared to 2016. we expect the percent increase in general and administrative expense in 2017 to be less than the percent increase in 2016 , as 2016 reflects a full year of endicia results , as opposed to approximately one and a half months in 2015. we expect to hire additional general and administrative personnel in 2017. we expect our stock-based compensation expense to be higher in 2017 compared to 2016 based on stock-based compensation expense incurred in the fourth quarter and the expectation of stock option grants to new hires in 2017. we expect our interest expense in 2017 to be largely consistent with 2016 . 41 we expect our effective tax rate for 2017 to be higher than 2016 as we benefitted from certain research and development tax credits earned in prior years in 2016 which we do not expect to recur at the same levels in 2017. there are other factors that impact taxable income compared to book income which can be difficult to predict and can change from quarter-to-quarter . we expect we will utilize the remainder of our federal net operating losses and other tax credits during 2017 and thus we expect to become a cash tax payer for 2017. as discussed earlier in this report , our expectations are subject to substantial uncertainty and our results are subject to macro-economic factors and other factors which could cause these trends to be worse than our current expectation or which could cause actual results to be materially different than our current expectations . these expectations are “ forward looking statements , ” are made only as of the date of this report and are subject to the qualifications and limitations on forward-looking statements discussion on page 1 of part i of this report and the risks and other factors set forth in item 1a “ risk factors . ” our business has grown through acquisitions during 2014 through 2016 ; however the expectations above do not assume any future acquisitions or dispositions , any of which could have a significant impact on our current expectations . as described in our forward-looking statements discussion , we do not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to our forward-looking statements to

liquidity and capital resources as of december 31 , 2016 and 2015 , we had $ 108 million and $ 75 million , respectively , in cash , cash equivalents and short-term and long-term investments . we invest available funds in short-term and long-term securities , including money market funds , corporate bonds , asset backed securities , and us government and agency bonds , and do not engage in hedging or speculative activities . net cash provided by operating activities was approximately $ 148 million and $ 46 million in 2016 and 2015 , respectively . the increase in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily attributable to an increase in our net income , depreciation and amortization , stock compensation expense offset by the impact of the stock option windfall tax benefit and deferred income tax expense and from net changes in our operating assets and liabilities in 2016 as compared to 2015. net cash used in investing activities was approximately $ 55 million and $ 210 million in 2016 and 2015 , respectively . the decrease in net cash used in investing activities was primarily due to the acquisition of shippingeasy , of $ 55.4 million in 2016 as compared to the acquisition of endicia of $ 214.2 million in 2015 . ( see note 3 – “ acquisitions ” in our notes to consolidated financial statements for further description ) .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```liquidity and capital resources as of december 31 , 2016 and 2015 , we had $ 108 million and $ 75 million , respectively , in cash , cash equivalents and short-term and long-term investments . we invest available funds in short-term and long-term securities , including money market funds , corporate bonds , asset backed securities , and us government and agency bonds , and do not engage in hedging or speculative activities . net cash provided by operating activities was approximately $ 148 million and $ 46 million in 2016 and 2015 , respectively . the increase in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily attributable to an increase in our net income , depreciation and amortization , stock compensation expense offset by the impact of the stock option windfall tax benefit and deferred income tax expense and from net changes in our operating assets and liabilities in 2016 as compared to 2015. net cash used in investing activities was approximately $ 55 million and $ 210 million in 2016 and 2015 , respectively . the decrease in net cash used in investing activities was primarily due to the acquisition of shippingeasy , of $ 55.4 million in 2016 as compared to the acquisition of endicia of $ 214.2 million in 2015 . ( see note 3 – “ acquisitions ” in our notes to consolidated financial statements for further description ) .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : these inducement awards cover an aggregate of up to 43,567 common shares each to ms. may and mr. cox if earnings targets for shippingeasy are achieved over a two and one-half year period beginning july 1 , 2016. the awards are subject to proration if at least 75 % of the applicable target is achieved and are subject to forfeiture or acceleration based on changes in employment circumstances over the performance period . the awards were a material inducement to ms. may and mr. cox entering into employment agreements with stamps.com in connection with the acquisition . we also issued inducement stock option grants for an aggregate of 62,000 shares of stamps.com common stock to 48 new employees in connection with our acquisition of shippingeasy . the stock options were granted as inducements material to the new employees entering into employment with stamps.com . endicia on march 22 , 2015 we entered into a stock purchase agreement ( the “ stock purchase agreement ” ) with psi systems , inc. , a california corporation d/b/a endicia ( “ endicia ” ) , and newell rubbermaid inc. , a delaware corporation ( “ newell ” ) . endicia , based in mountain view , california , offers mailing and shipping solutions for use with the usps . the stock purchase agreement provided for our purchase of all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of endicia from a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of newell for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $ 215 million in cash ( the “ transaction ” ) . the purchase price was subject to adjustment for changes in endicia 's net working capital as of the date of the closing of the transaction and certain transaction expenses and closing cash adjustments . after receiving regulatory clearance , we closed the transaction on november 18 , 2015. as part of the funding for our acquisition of endicia , we entered into a credit agreement with a group of banks on november 18 , 2015 , which provides for a term loan of $ 82.5 million and a revolving credit facility with a maximum borrowing of $ 82.5 million ( collectively , the “ credit agreement ” ) . the credit agreement is secured by substantially all our assets . we funded our acquisition with cash of $ 56.5 million and debt from our credit agreement of $ 164.5 million , totaling $ 221.0 million . the $ 221.0 million consists of the following : 1 ) purchase price of $ 214.2 million , 2 ) $ 1.5 million of debt issuance costs and 3 ) the transfer of endicia 's ending cash balance on november 17 , 2015 of $ 5.3 million . total debt issuance costs of $ 1.8 million , which includes $ 300 thousand of costs incurred prior to closing , were recorded as debt discount and are being accreted as interest expense over the life of the credit agreement . our credit agreement matures on november 18 , 2020. during the first quarter of 2016 , we adjusted the purchase price of endicia by $ 573,000 to $ 214.7 million . 34 shipworks on august 29 , 2014 , we acquired 100 % of the outstanding equity of interapptive , inc. , which operates shipworks , in a cash transaction . shipworks , based in st. louis , missouri , offers software-based multi-carrier shipping solutions . the total purchase price for shipworks was approximately $ 22.1 million and was funded from cash and investment balances . shipstation on june 10 , 2014 , we acquired 100 % of the outstanding equity of auctane llc , which operates shipstation , in a cash and contingent stock transaction . shipstation , based in austin , texas , offers web-based multi-carrier shipping solutions primarily under the brands shipstation and auctane . the total purchase price for shipstation was approximately $ 66.2 million which was funded from cash and investment balances . the performance linked earn-out payment of stamps.com shares ( or contingent consideration ) to former equity members of auctane llc was based on the achievement of certain financial measures within time periods subsequent to the acquisition . there were two periods in which the earn-out payment was calculated . the first earn-out period was based on the achievement of certain financial measures during the six months ended december 31 , 2014. the second earn-out period was based on the achievement of certain financial measures during the twelve months ended december 31 , 2015. shipstation achieved the financial measures for both earn-out periods and , as a result , we made earn-out payments of 192,225 shares in the first quarter of 2015 and 576,675 shares in the first quarter of 2016. under asc 805 , business combinations , we were required to re-measure the fair value of the contingent consideration at each reporting period . as a result of the re-measured fair value , we incurred contingent consideration charges in our consolidated statement of operations of $ 8.4 million in 2014 and $ 46.1 million in 2015. please see note 3 – “ acquisitions ” and note 7 – “ debt ” in our notes to consolidated financial statements for further description . results of operations the results of our operations during the year ended december 31 , 2016 includes operations of shippingeasy for the period from july 1 , 2016 through december 31 , 2016 and the operations of endicia , shipstation , and shipworks for the full fiscal year 2016. the results of our operations during the year ended december 31 , 2015 includes operations of endicia for the period from november 18 , 2015 through december 31 , 2015 and the operations of shipstation and shipworks for the full fiscal year 2015. please see note 3 – “ acquisitions ” in our notes to consolidated financial statements for further description . story_separator_special_tag in 2016 , our income tax expense of $ 41.7 million consisted of current income tax expense of $ 8.1 million consisting of federal alternative minimum tax and various state taxes and deferred income tax expense of $ 33.6 million consisting of temporary tax items including utilization of net operating losses , contingent consideration , stock compensation and differences in the book and tax lives of amortizable intangibles . our effective income tax rate differed from the statutory income tax rate primarily as a result of permanent tax adjustments for nondeductible items , research and development tax credits , and changes in state tax rates including the addition and reduction of uncertain tax positions of the prior and of the current year . as of december 31 , 2016 and 2015 , we had net deferred tax assets of approximately $ 48.8 million and $ 57.2 million , respectively . we evaluated the appropriateness of our deferred tax assets and related valuation allowance in accordance with asc 740 based on all available positive and negative evidence , including our recent earnings trend and expected future income . as of december 31 , 2016 and 2015 , we did not have any valuation allowance against our gross deferred tax assets . trend analysis we expect our mailing and shipping revenue to increase in 2017 compared to 2016. we expect our mailing and shipping revenue growth in 2017 to be less than the growth we achieved in 2016 now that we have passed the one year anniversary of our endicia acquisition . our ability to grow our mailing and shipping revenue is partly dependent on our ability to increase our sales and marketing spend to acquire new customers and to retain our existing customers . to the extent we are not able to achieve our target increase in spending and acquire or retain customers , this would negatively impact our 2017 mailing and shipping revenue growth expectations . we expect customized postage revenue to increase in 2017 compared to 2016. we expect our customized postage revenue growth in 2017 to be a smaller percentage than the growth in 2016 , as 2016 reflects a full year of endicia results , as opposed to approximately one and a half months in 2015. high volume business orders for customized postage can fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and therefore historical trends may not be indicative of future results for customized postage revenue . we expect our sales and marketing expense to increase in 2017 compared to 2016. we expect the percent increase in sales and marketing expense in 2017 to be less than the percent increase in 2016 , as 2016 reflects a full year of endicia results , as opposed to approximately one and a half months in 2015. we will continue to monitor our customer metrics and the state of the economy and adjust our level of spending accordingly . sales and marketing spend is expensed in the period incurred , while the revenue and profits associated with the acquired customers are earned over the customers ' lifetimes . as a result , increased sales and marketing spend in future periods could result in a reduction in operating profit and cash flow compared to past periods . we expect research and development expenses to be higher in 2017 as compared to 2016. we expect the percent increase in research and development expense in 2017 to be less than the percent increase in 2016 , as 2016 reflects a full year of endicia results , as opposed to approximately one and a half months in 2015. we expect to hire additional research and development personnel in 2017. we expect general and administrative expenses to be higher in 2017 as compared to 2016. we expect the percent increase in general and administrative expense in 2017 to be less than the percent increase in 2016 , as 2016 reflects a full year of endicia results , as opposed to approximately one and a half months in 2015. we expect to hire additional general and administrative personnel in 2017. we expect our stock-based compensation expense to be higher in 2017 compared to 2016 based on stock-based compensation expense incurred in the fourth quarter and the expectation of stock option grants to new hires in 2017. we expect our interest expense in 2017 to be largely consistent with 2016 . 41 we expect our effective tax rate for 2017 to be higher than 2016 as we benefitted from certain research and development tax credits earned in prior years in 2016 which we do not expect to recur at the same levels in 2017. there are other factors that impact taxable income compared to book income which can be difficult to predict and can change from quarter-to-quarter . we expect we will utilize the remainder of our federal net operating losses and other tax credits during 2017 and thus we expect to become a cash tax payer for 2017. as discussed earlier in this report , our expectations are subject to substantial uncertainty and our results are subject to macro-economic factors and other factors which could cause these trends to be worse than our current expectation or which could cause actual results to be materially different than our current expectations . these expectations are “ forward looking statements , ” are made only as of the date of this report and are subject to the qualifications and limitations on forward-looking statements discussion on page 1 of part i of this report and the risks and other factors set forth in item 1a “ risk factors . ” our business has grown through acquisitions during 2014 through 2016 ; however the expectations above do not assume any future acquisitions or dispositions , any of which could have a significant impact on our current expectations . as described in our forward-looking statements discussion , we do not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to our forward-looking statements to

