Note 6 – Stock-Based Compensation

Equity Incentive Plans

2013 Equity Incentive Plan

Effective on June 16, 2021, the Company’s stockholders approved the amendment and restatement of the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance thereunder by 1,500,000 shares, bringing to 8,785,967 the total number of shares approved for issuance under that plan. 

As of September 30, 2021, 2,537,844 shares of common stock remain eligible to be issued through equity-based instruments under the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan.

2014 Non-Employee Equity Compensation Plan

Effective on May 26, 2020, the Company’s stockholders approved the amendment and restatement of the 2014 Non-employee Equity Compensation Plan to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance through equity-based instruments thereunder by 800,000 shares, bringing to 1,650,000 the total number of shares approved for issuance under that plan.

As of September 30, 2021, 879,922 shares of common stock remain eligible to be issued through equity-based instruments under the 2014 Non-Employee Equity Compensation Plan.

2015 Performance Share Unit Plan

Effective on June 16, 2021, the Company’s stockholders approved the amendment and restatement of the 2015 Performance Share Unit Plan to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance through equity-based instruments thereunder by 1,700,000 shares, bringing to 5,110,104 the total number of shares approved for issuance under that plan.

As of September 30, 2021, 2,513,901 shares of common stock remain eligible to be issued through equity-based instruments under the 2015 Performance Share Unit Plan.

Note 6 – Stock-Based Compensation, continued

2017 Equity Inducement Plan

On December 28, 2017, the Board approved the 2017 Equity Inducement Plan. Under the plan, the Board reserved 600,000 shares for the grant of RSUs. These grants will be administered by the Board or a committee of the Board. These awards will be granted to individuals who (a) are being hired as an employee by the Company or any subsidiary and such award is a material inducement to such person being hired; (b) are being rehired as an employee following a bona fide period of interruption of employment with the Company or any subsidiary; or (c) will become an employee of the Company or any subsidiary in connection with a merger or acquisition.

As of September 30, 2021, 111,679 shares of common stock remain available to be issued through equity-based instruments under the 2017 Equity Inducement Plan.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

In April 2015, the Company’s Board approved the ESPP, under which 600,000 shares of common stock have been reserved for purchase by the Company’s employees, subject to the approval by the stockholders. On May 21, 2015, the Company’s stockholders approved the ESPP. Effective on June 16, 2021, the Company’s stockholders approved the amendment and restatement of the Employee Stock Purchase Plan to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance through equity-based instruments thereunder by 700,000 shares, bring to 1,550,000 the total number of shares approved for issuance under that plan. Under the ESPP, employees may designate an amount not less than 1% but not more than 10% of their annual compensation for the purchase of Company shares. No more than 7,500 shares may be purchased by an employee under the ESPP during an offering period. An offering period shall be six months in duration commencing on or about January 1 and July 1 of each year. The exercise price of the option will be the lesser of 85% of the fair market of the common stock on the first business day of the offering period and 85% of the fair market value of the common stock on the applicable exercise date.

As of September 30, 2021, 685,374 shares of common stock remain eligible to be issued under the ESPP. Employees contributed $124,801 through payroll withholdings to the ESPP as of September 30, 2021 for the current offering period that will end on December 31, 2021 and shares will be deemed delivered on that date.

Stock Option Activity

The following is a summary of the Company’s stock option activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2021:

As of September 30, 2021, the unamortized value of options was $0.

Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”)

During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Compensation Committee granted various employees RSUs covering 979,385 shares of common stock under the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan. The awards vest over terms ranging from two to four years.

Note 6 – Stock-Based Compensation, continued

During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Compensation Committee and the Board of Directors granted various non-employees RSUs covering 172,091 shares of common stock under the 2014 Non-employee Equity Compensation Plan. The awards vest over terms ranging from one to four years

During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Board of Directors granted an employee RSUs covering 34,000 shares of common stock under the 2017 Equity Inducement Plan. The award vests over a term of four years.

As of September 30, 2021, the unamortized value of the RSUs was $3,237,533. The unamortized amount will be expensed over a weighted average period of 1.5 years. A summary of the activity related to RSUs for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 is presented below:

Performance Share Units (“PSUs”)

Performance share units (“PSUs”) are grants that vest upon the achievement of certain performance goals. The goals are commonly related to the Company’s revenue and achievement of sales and marketing goals.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors granted various employees PSUs covering 1,465,713 shares of common stock under the Company’s 2015 Performance Share Unit Plan.

Amortization for all PSU awards was $843,741 and $3,539,588 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively, and $0 and $(88,348) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively.

As of September 30, 2021, the unamortized value of the PSUs was $733,189. The unamortized amount will be expensed over a weighted average period of 0.3 years.

A summary of the activity related to PSUs for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 is presented below:

Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”)

The current offering period under the ESPP started on July 1, 2021 and will conclude on December 31, 2021. The recently completed offering period under the ESPP started on January 1, 2021 and concluded on June 30, 2021. During the year ended December 31, 2020, there were two offering periods. The first offering period began January 1, 2020 and concluded on June 30, 2020. The second offering period began on July 1, 2020 and concluded on December 31, 2020.

Note 6 – Stock-Based Compensation, continued

The weighted-average grant-date fair value of the purchase option for each designated share purchased under this plan was approximately $1.05 and $1.11 for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, which represents the fair value of the option, consisting of three main components: (i) the value of the discount on the enrollment date, (ii) the proportionate value of the call option for 85% of the stock and (iii) the proportionate value of the put option for 15% of the stock. The Company recognized compensation expense for the plan of $76,814 and $96,056 for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and the Company recognized compensation expense for the plan of $194,781 and $180,191 for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

The Company estimated the fair value of ESPP purchase options granted during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The fair values of ESPP purchase options granted were estimated using the following assumptions:

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

The following tables summarize total stock-based compensation costs recognized for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020:

The total amount of stock-based compensation was reflected within the statements of operations as: