STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

Stock-based awards were granted under the 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the "2018 Plan") beginning January 29, 2018 and, prior to that, were granted under the 2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the "2017 Plan"). Upon stockholder approval of the 2018 Plan, we ceased granting awards under any prior plan. Shares subject to awards under prior plans that are forfeited, canceled, returned to the Company for failure to satisfy vesting requirements, settled in cash or otherwise terminated without payment also will be available for grant under the 2018 Plan. The authority to grant options under the 2018 Plan and to set other terms and conditions rests with the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. We also have awards outstanding under our 2016 Omnibus Plan (the "2016 Plan"), 2014 Omnibus Plan (the "2014 Plan"), 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the "2013 Plan") and the 2000 Omnibus Stock Plan, as amended and restated as of December 4, 2009 (the "2000 Plan").

The 2018 Plan authorizes the issuance of up to 1,500,000 common shares in connection with awards of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance-based full value awards or other stock-based awards. Eligible participants include our employees, our affiliates, non-employee directors of our Company and any consultant or advisor who is a natural person and provides services to us or our affiliates. Options that have been granted under the 2018 Plan typically vest over a four-year period and will expire if unexercised after seven years from the date of grant. Restricted stock unit awards (“RSUs”) that have been granted to directors typically vest in one year. RSUs that have been granted to executives and employees typically vest in January over a four-year period. Awards may be granted under the 2018 Plan until January 28, 2028. Options under the 2018 Plan can be granted as either incentive stock options (“ISOs”) or non-statutory stock options (“NSOs”). The exercise price of options and the grant date price of restricted stock units shall be determined by our Compensation Committee but shall not be less than the fair market value of our common stock based on the closing price on the date of grant. As of September 30, 2018, there were approximately 1,313,651 shares available for future grants under the 2018 Plan.

The 2017 Plan, under which grants ceased upon approval of the 2018 Plan, authorized the issuance of up to 1,500,000 common shares in connection with awards of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance-based full value awards or other stock-based awards. Eligible participants included our employees, our affiliates, non-employee directors of our Company and any consultant or advisor who is a natural person and provided services to us or our affiliates. Options that have been granted under the 2017 Plan typically vested over a four-year period and expired if unexercised after seven years from the date of grant. RSUs that were granted to directors typically vested in one year. RSUs that were granted to executives and employees typically vested in January over a four-year period. Options under the 2017 Plan

12. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION (CONTINUED)

could be granted as ISOs or NSOs. The exercise price of options and the grant date price of restricted stock units was determined by our Compensation Committee but could not be less than the fair market value of our common stock based on the closing price on the date of grant.

The 2016 Plan initially authorized the issuance of up to 1,500,000 common shares in connection with awards of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance-based full value awards or other stock-based awards. Eligible participants included our employees, our affiliates, non-employee directors of our Company and any consultant or advisor who is a natural person and provided services to us or our affiliates. Options that were granted under the 2016 Plan typically vested over a four-year period and expired if unexercised after seven years from the date of grant. RSUs that were granted to directors typically vested in one year. RSUs that were granted to executives and employees typically vested in November or January over a four-year period. Options under the 2016 Plan could be granted as either ISOs or NSOs. The exercise price of options and the grant date price of restricted stock was determined by our Compensation Committee but were not less than the fair market value of our common stock based on the closing price on the date of grant.

The 2014 Plan initially authorized the issuance of up to 2,250,000 common shares in connection with awards of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance-based full value awards or other stock-based awards. Eligible participants included our employees, our affiliates, non-employee directors of our Company and any consultant or advisor who is a natural person and provides services to us or our affiliates. Options granted under this plan generally vested over a four-year service period and expired if unexercised after eight years from the date of grant. RSUs that were granted to Directors typically vested in one year. RSUs that were granted to executives and employees typically vested in November over a four-year period. Options under the 2014 Plan were granted as either ISOs or NSOs. Awards may no longer be granted under the 2014 Plan as grants ceased upon approval of the 2016 Plan effective February 1, 2016 at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders. The exercise price of options and the grant date price of restricted stock was determined by our Compensation Committee but could not be less than the fair market value of our common stock based on the closing price on the date of grant.

The 2013 Plan initially authorized the issuance of up to 1,750,000 common shares in connection with awards of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance-based full value awards or stock awards. Eligible participants included our employees, non-employee directors, consultants and advisors. Options granted under this plan generally vested over a four-year service period and expired if unexercised after eight years from the date of grant. RSUs that were granted to Directors typically vested in one year. Awards may no longer be granted under the 2013 Plan as grants ceased upon approval of the 2014 Plan effective January 27, 2014 at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Options under the 2013 Plan were granted as either ISOs or NSOs. The exercise price was determined by our Compensation Committee but could not be less than the fair market value of our common stock based on the closing price on the date of grant.

The 2000 Plan initially authorized the issuance of up to 5,750,000 common shares in connection with awards of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, performance units or stock awards. Eligible participants included our employees, non-employee directors, consultants and advisors. An authorization to issue an additional 2,500,000 common shares was ratified on January 25, 2010 at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Awards may no longer be granted under the 2000 Plan as the plan was terminated as to future awards on January 28, 2013 at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Options under the 2000 Plan were granted as either ISOs or non-statutory stock options NSOs. The exercise price was determined by our Compensation Committee but could not be less than the fair market value of our common stock based on the closing price on the date of grant.

Our equity plans and corresponding forms of award agreements generally have provisions allowing employees to elect to satisfy tax withholding obligations through the delivery of shares, having us retain a portion of shares issuable under the award or paying cash to us for the withholding. During fiscal 2018, 2017 and 2016 our employees forfeited 74,204, 49,684 and 47,464 shares, respectively in order to satisfy $0.7 million, $0.7 million and $0.6 million, respectively, of withholding tax obligations related to stock-based compensation, pursuant to terms of awards under our board and shareholder-approved compensation plans.

We recorded cash received from the exercise of stock options of $5.5 million, $3.5 million and $7.2 million during fiscal years 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

We sponsor an Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended and restated as of October 29, 2013, December 4, 2009 and November 27, 2006 (the "Purchase Plan"), covering all domestic employees with at least 90 days of continuous service and who are customarily employed at least 20 hours per week. The Purchase Plan allows eligible participants the right to purchase

12. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION (CONTINUED)

common stock on a quarterly basis at the lower of 85% of the market price at the beginning or end of each three-month offering period. The most recent amendments to the Purchase Plan, ratified by our stockholders on January 27, 2014, increased the total number of shares to 2,800,000 that may be purchased under the plan. Employee contributions to the Purchase Plan were $1.1 million, $0.7 million and $0.9 million in fiscal 2018, 2017 and 2016. Pursuant to the Purchase Plan, 125,446, 72,594, and 103,915 shares of common stock were issued to employees during fiscal 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Shares are issued under the Purchase Plan from treasury stock. As of September 30, 2018, 315,576 shares of common stock were available for future issuances under the Purchase Plan.

Stock-based compensation cost capitalized as part of inventory was immaterial as of September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016.

Stock-based compensation expense is included in the consolidated results of operations as follows (in thousands):



	Fiscal years ended September 30,
	2018			2017			2016
Cost of sales	$	195		$	213		$	215
Sales and marketing	1,492			1,348			921
Research and development	516			656			590
General and administrative	2,651			2,442			1,923
Stock-based compensation before income taxes	4,854			4,659			3,649
Income tax benefit	(1,017		)	(1,536		)	(1,185		)
Stock-based compensation after income taxes	$	3,837		$	3,123		$	2,464

Stock Options

A summary of our stock options as of September 30, 2018 and changes during the twelve months then ended is presented below (in thousands, except per common share amounts):



	Options Outstanding		Weighted Average Exercised Price	Weighted Average Contractual Term (in years)	Aggregate Intrinsic Value (1)
Balance at September 30, 2017	3,902		$10.54
Granted	863		10.92
Exercised	(597	)	9.14
Forfeited / Canceled	(642	)	12.64
Balance at September 30, 2018	3,526		$10.49	4.2	$	10,470

Exercisable at September 30, 2018	2,245		$10.09	3.3	$	7,558

(1) The aggregate intrinsic value represents the total pre-tax intrinsic value, based on our closing stock price of $13.45 as of September 30, 2018, which would have been received by the option holders had all option holders exercised their options as of that date.

The intrinsic value of an option is the amount by which the fair value of the underlying stock exceeds its exercise price. The total intrinsic value of all options exercised during each of the twelve months ended September 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016 was $1.2 million, $0.9 million and $1.9 million, respectively.

12. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION (CONTINUED)

The table below shows the weighted average fair value, which was determined based upon the fair value of each option on the grant date utilizing the Black-Scholes option-pricing model and the related assumptions:



	Fiscal years ended September 30,
	2018		2017		2016
Weighted average per option grant date fair value	$	3.98	$	4.63	$	3.90
Assumptions used for option grants:
Risk free interest rate	2.12% - 2.89%		1.46% - 1.96%		1.22% - 1.85%
Expected term	6.00 years		6.00 years		6.00 years
Expected volatility	33% - 34%		33% - 34%		32% - 33%
Weighted average volatility	33%		34%		32%
Expected dividend yield	0%		0%		0%

The fair value of each option award granted during the periods presented was estimated using the Black-Scholes option valuation model that uses the assumptions noted in the table above. Expected volatilities are based on the historical volatility of our stock. We use historical data to estimate option exercise and employee termination information within the valuation model. The expected term of options granted is derived from the vesting period and historical information and represents the period of time that options granted are expected to be outstanding. The risk-free rate used is the zero-coupon U.S. Treasury bond rate in effect at the time of the grant whose maturity equals the expected term of the option.

As of September 30, 2018, the total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested stock-based compensation arrangements, net of expected forfeitures, was $4.4 million and the related weighted average period over which it is expected to be recognized was approximately 2.8 years.

As of September 30, 2018, the weighted average exercise price and remaining life of the stock options are as follows (in thousands, except remaining life and exercise price):



Options Outstanding					Options Exercisable
Range of Exercise Prices	Options Outstanding	Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life (In Years)	Weighted Average Exercise Price		Number of Shares Vested	Weighted Average Exercise Price
$7.40 - $8.30	694	3.16	$	8.00	604	$	7.97
$8.31 - $9.68	551	3.27	$	9.39	515	$	9.42
$9.69 - $10.33	644	5.38	$	10.14	129	$	9.89
$10.34 - $10.81	554	3.79	$	10.63	421	$	10.72
$10.82 - $12.63	523	4.36	$	12.00	379	$	11.99
$12.64 - $13.50	548	5.55	$	13.50	185	$	13.50
$13.51 - $14.75	12	2.82	$	14.75	12	$	14.75
$7.40 - $14.75	3,526	4.23	$	10.49	2,245	$	10.09

The total grant date fair value of shares vested was $3.3 million, $2.4 million and $2.9 million in each of fiscal 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

12. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION (CONTINUED)

Non-vested Restricted Stock Units

A summary of our non-vested restricted stock units as of September 30, 2018 and changes during the twelve months then ended is presented below (in thousands, except per common share amounts):



	Number of Awards		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Nonvested at September 30, 2017	566		$	11.28
Granted	415		$	10.77
Vested	(207	)	$	11.02
Canceled	(100	)	$	11.21
Nonvested at September 30, 2018	674		$	11.05

As of September 30, 2018, the total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested restricted stock units was $5.3 million and the related weighted average period over which it is expected to be recognized was approximately 1.3 years.