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Note 10 - Stock-based Compensation
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Notes to Financial Statements  
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Text Block]
10.
 
Stock-based Compensation
 
On
August 21, 2014,
the Company’s Board of Directors adopted the
2014
Equity Incentive Plan (the
“2014
Plan”), the
2014
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the
“2014
ESPP”) and the
2006
Equity Incentive Plan (the
“2006
Plan”). On
October 3, 2014,
the stockholders approved these plans. The stockholders also approved an amendment to the
2014
Plan on
July 31, 2017.
 
The Plans provide for the grant of incentive and non-statutory stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock and stock unit awards, performance units, stock grants and qualified performance-based awards. Under the
2006
Plan,
no
new stock compensation awards will be granted subsequent to the completion of the Company’s IPO. The Company initially reserved
704,000
shares of Common Stock for issuance under the
2014
Plan. The
2014
Plan provides that the number of shares reserved and available for issuance under the
2014
Plan will automatically increase each
January 1,
beginning
January 1, 2015
by
four
percent of the outstanding shares of Common Stock on the immediately preceding
December 31
or such lesser number of shares as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors prior to each such
January
1st.
 
Terms of the stock awards, including vesting requirements, are determined by the Board of Directors, subject to the provisions of the Plans. Options granted by the Company typically vest over
three
to
four
years. Certain awards provide for accelerated vesting if there is a change in control as defined in the Plans. Stock options outstanding under the
2006
Plan are exercisable from the date of grant for a period of
ten
years. Stock options granted under the
2014
Plan are exercisable only upon vesting. For options granted to date, the exercise price equaled the fair value of the Common Stock as determined by the Board of Directors on the date of grant.
 
Stock-based compensation expense
 
Total stock-based compensation expense is recognized for stock options granted to employees and non-employees and has been reported in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations as follows (in thousands):
 
    Year Ended December 31,
    2017   2016   2015
             
Research and development   $
1,109
    $
1,114
    $
650
 
General and administrative    
2,118
     
2,229
     
1,514
 
Total   $
3,227
    $
3,343
    $
2,164
 
 
The Company estimates the fair value of each employee stock award on the grant date using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model based on the following assumptions regarding the fair value of the underlying Common Stock on each measurement date:
 
    Year Ended December 31,
    2017   2016   2015
Weighted average expected volatility    
94.5
%    
84.4
%    
79.8
%
Expected term (in years)    
6.06
     
6.05
     
6.11
 
Risk free interest rate    
2.09
%    
1.45
%    
1.76
%
Expected dividend yield    
0
%    
0
%    
0
%
 
Stock options issued to non-employees are accounted for using the fair value method of accounting; they are periodically revalued as the options vest and are recognized as expense over the related service period. The total expense related to all options granted to non-employees for the years ended
December 31, 2017,
2016
and
2015
was
$0,
$0
and
$2,000,
respectively.
 
Stock Options
 
The following table summarizes stock option activity for employees and non-employees:
 
    Options   Weighted-Average Exercise Price   Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Term (years)   Aggregate Intrinsic Value
                 
Outstanding at December 31, 2016    
2,166,254
    $
8.55
     
7.1
    $
124
 
Granted    
719,337
    $
1.99
     
 
     
 
 
Exercised    
(74,001
)   $
1.45
     
 
     
 
 
Forfeited    
(30,272
)   $
10.69
     
 
     
 
 
Expired    
(100,246
)   $
2.60
     
 
     
 
 
Outstanding at December 31, 2017    
2,681,072
    $
7.18
     
6.8
    $
121
 
Exercisable at December 31, 2017    
1,495,789
    $
8.18
     
5.9
    $
85
 
Vested or expected to vest at December 31, 2017 (1)    
2,681,072
    $
7.18
     
6.8
    $
121
 
____________________
(
1
) Represents the number of vested options at
December 31, 2017
plus the number of unvested options expected to vest based on the unvested options outstanding at
December 31, 2017.
 
During the year ended
December 31, 2017,
the Company granted stock options to purchase an aggregate of
719,337
shares of its Common Stock with a weighted-average grant date fair value of
$1.99.
During the year ended
December 31, 2016,
the Company granted stock options to purchase an aggregate of
132,495
shares of its Common Stock with a weighted-average exercise price of
$7.11
and a weighted-average grant date fair value of
$5.08.
During the year ended
December 31, 2015,
the Company granted stock options to purchase an aggregate of
1,010,256
shares of its Common Stock with a weighted-average grant date fair value of
$9.34
 
The total intrinsic value of options exercised in the years ended
December 31, 2017
and
2016
was
$27,000
and
$0.6
million, respectively. As of
December 31, 2017,
there was
$4.2
million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to employee non-vested stock options. The total unrecognized compensation cost for employee awards will be adjusted for future forfeitures. The Company expects to recognize its remaining stock-based compensation expense over a weighted-average period of
1.95
years.
 
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
 
The
2014
ESPP initially authorized the issuance of up to
140,500
shares of Common Stock. The number of shares increases each
January 1,
commencing on
January 1, 2015
and ending on (and including)
January 1, 2024,
by an amount equal to the lesser of
one
percent of the outstanding shares as of the end of the immediately preceding fiscal year,
281,000
shares and any lower amount determined by the Company’s Board of Directors prior to each such
January
1st.
As of
December 31, 2017,
the
2014
ESPP authorized the issuance of up to
304,991
shares of Common Stock. The Company’s Board of Directors has determined there was to be
no
increase on
January 1, 2018.
The
sixth
offering under the
2014
ESPP began on
July 1, 2017
and ended on
December 31, 2017.
During the years ended
December 31, 2017
and
2016,
100,358
and
4,538
shares, respectively, were issued under the
2014
ESPP resulting in
192,463
shares remaining for future issuance under the plan as of
December 31, 2017.
The Company incurred
$0.1
million and
$0.1
million in stock-based compensation expense related to the
2014
ESPP for the years ended
December 31, 2017
and
2016,
respectively.