EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Harmonic grants stock options and restricted stock units (“RSUs”) pursuant to stockholder approved equity incentive plans. These equity incentive plans are described in detail in Note 14, “Employee Benefit Plans” of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2014 Form 10-K.

Stock Options and Restricted Stock Units

The following table summarizes the Company’s stock option and RSU unit activity during the nine months ended October 2, 2015 (in thousands, except per share amounts):



			Stock Options Outstanding				Restricted Stock Units Outstanding
	Shares Available for Grant		Number of Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Number of Units		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Balance at December 31, 2014	7,480		7,255		$	6.65	2,241		$	6.40
Authorized	—		—		—		—		—
Granted	(4,000	)	1,156		7.58		1,895		7.17
Options exercised	—		(748	)	5.32		—		—
Shares released	—		—		—		(1,526	)	6.47
Forfeited or cancelled	1,887		(1,606	)	8.05		(189	)	6.79
Balance at October 2, 2015	5,367		6,057		$	6.62	2,421		$	6.99

The following table summarizes information about stock options outstanding as of October 2, 2015 (in thousands, except per share amounts):



	Number of Shares	Weighted Average Exercise Price		Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term (Years)	Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Vested and expected to vest	5,777	$	6.60	4.1	$	994
Exercisable	3,634	6.44		3.2	968

The intrinsic value of options vested and expected to vest and exercisable as of October 2, 2015 is calculated based on the difference between the exercise price and the fair value of the Company’s common stock as of October 2, 2015. The intrinsic value of options exercised is calculated based on the difference between the exercise price and the fair value of the Company’s common stock as of the exercise date. The intrinsic value of options exercised during the three and nine months ended October 2, 2015 was $28,000 and $1.7 million, respectively. The intrinsic value of options exercised during the three and nine months ended September 26, 2014 was $0.3 million and $0.7 million, respectively.

The following table summarizes information about RSUs outstanding as of October 2, 2015 (in thousands, except per share amounts):



	Number of Shares Underlying Restricted Stock Units	Weighted Average Remaining Vesting Period (Years)	Aggregate Fair Value
Vested and expected to vest	1,859	0.8	$	10,856

The fair value of RSUs vested and expected to vest as of October 2, 2015 is calculated based on the fair value of the Company’s common stock as of October 2, 2015.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

The 2002 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) provides for the issuance of common stock purchase rights to employees of the Company. The ESPP is intended to qualify as an “employee stock purchase plan” under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code. The ESPP enables employees to purchase shares at 85% of the fair market value of the common stock at the beginning or end of the offering period, whichever is lower. Offering periods generally begin on the first trading day on or after January 1 and July 1 of each year. Employees may participate through payroll deductions of 1% to 10% of their earnings. In the event that there are insufficient shares in the plan to fully fund the issuance, the available shares will be allocated across all participants based on their contributions relative to the total contributions received for the offering period.

401(k) Plan

The Company has a retirement/savings plan which qualifies as a thrift plan under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. This plan allows participants to contribute up to the applicable Internal Revenue Code limitations under the plan. The Company has made discretionary contributions to the plan of 25% of the first 4% contributed by eligible participants, up to a maximum contribution per participant of $1,000 per year. The contributions for the nine months ended October 2, 2015 and September 26, 2014 were $342,000 and $354,000, respectively.