Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

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SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]  
SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

2015 Equity Incentive Plan. During the second quarter of 2017, our stockholders approved an amendment to the 2015 Equity Incentive Plan ("2015 Plan") that increased the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2015 Plan from 1,400,000 to 2,500,000. In addition to the increase in the number of authorized shares issuable under the 2015 Plan, the amendment included several "best practices" changes. The 2015 Plan includes new shares reserved for issuance to directors, employees and consultants and allows for a variety of forms of awards, including stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, dividend equivalents and performance-based compensation. Stock option awards have maximum 10-year terms and all awards issued thus far vest on an accelerated basis if there is a change in control of the Company, unless the awards are assumed by the successor, as defined.

In May 2017, the Company extended the employment agreement of Daniel R. Lee, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, through November 2020 and simultaneously issued him an option to purchase 240,000 shares of common stock under the 2015 Plan with an exercise price of $2.32. Mr. Lee's option will vest ratably on a monthly basis between December 1, 2018 and November 30, 2020 in conjunction with his amended employment agreement. Also, in May 2017, the Company issued options to purchase a total of 180,000 shares of common stock under the 2015 Plan to various other employees of the Company, all of which have an exercise price of $2.32. These stock options all vest in equal amounts over the next three years. In all cases, the exercise price of the options reflects the Company's closing price on the date of grant.

As compensation for their annual service, the Company also issued to non-executive members of its Board of Directors options to purchase a total of 59,990 shares of common stock under the 2015 Plan with an exercise price of $2.32 and a one-year vesting period; and 25,860 shares of common stock under the 2015 Plan that vested immediately.

As of December 31, 2017, we had 1,037,906 share-based awards authorized by shareholders and available for grant from the 2015 Plan.

Prior to the adoption of the 2015 Plan and outside of the 2006 Plan, in order to recruit our executive officers, we issued a non-qualified stock option to purchase 943,834 shares to Daniel R. Lee, our Chief Executive Officer and President, and a non-qualified stock option to purchase 300,000 shares to Lewis Fanger, our Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Messrs. Lee and Fanger's stock options vested with respect to 25% of the shares on the first anniversary of their respective grant dates, and continue to vest with respect to an additional 1/48th of the shares on each monthly anniversary thereafter.

Stock Options. The following table summarizes information related to our common stock options:
 
Number
of Stock
Options
 
Weighted
Average
Exercise Price
 
Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term
(in years)
 
Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Options outstanding at January 1, 2017
2,057,950

 
$
1.42

 
 
 
 
Granted
479,990

 
2.32

 
 
 
 
Exercised
(46,666
)
 
1.56

 
 
 
 
Canceled/Forfeited

 

 
 
 
 
Options outstanding at December 31, 2017
2,491,274

 
$
1.59

 
7.76
 
$
5,736,488

Options exercisable at December 31, 2017
1,327,068

 
$
1.37

 
7.24
 
$
3,340,061



The Company received $73,000 from the exercise of stock options during 2017. The intrinsic value of the options exercised, which represents the value of the Company's common stock at the time of exercise in excess of the exercise price, was $106,000. No options were exercised during 2016.

Compensation Cost.  Compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 was $0.5 million and $0.4 million, respectively. These costs are recognized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period of the awards net of forfeitures and are included in selling, general and administrative expense on the consolidated statements of operations.

As of December 31, 2017, there was approximately $0.7 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested stock options granted by the Company. This unrecognized compensation cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.19 years.

We estimated the fair value of each stock option award on the grant date using the Black-Scholes valuation model. Option valuation models require the input of highly subjective assumptions, and changes in assumptions used can materially affect the fair value estimate. Option valuation weighted-average assumptions were as follows:
 
For the year ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
Expected volatility
43.67%
 
43.87%
Expected dividend yield
—%
 
—%
Expected term (in years)
5.87
 
5.70
Weighted average risk free rate
2.00%
 
1.41%


The weighted-average grant date fair value of options granted during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 was $1.02 and $0.67 per share, respectively.

Expected volatility is based on the historical volatility of our stock price. Dividend yield is based on the estimate of annual dividends expected to be paid at the time of the grant. The expected term considers the contractual term of the option as well as historical exercise and forfeiture behavior.  The risk-free interest rate is based on the rates in effect on the grant date for U.S. Treasury instruments with maturities matching the relevant expected term of the award.