STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

Stock-based awards were granted under the 2019 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2019 Plan”) beginning February 4, 2019 and, prior to that, were granted under the 2018 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2018 Plan”). Upon stockholder approval of the 2019 Plan, we ceased granting awards under any prior plan. Shares subject to awards under prior plans that are forfeited, canceled, returned to us for failure to satisfy vesting requirements, settled in cash or otherwise terminated without payment also will be available for grant under the 2019 Plan. The authority to grant options under the 2019 Plan and to set other terms and conditions rests with the Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors. We also have awards outstanding under our 2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan, 2016 Omnibus Plan, 2014 Omnibus Plan, 2013 Omnibus Incentive Plan and the 2000 Omnibus Stock Plan, as amended and restated as of December 4, 2009.

The 2019 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 2019 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 December over a four-year period. The 2019 Plan is scheduled to expire on February 3, 2029. Options under the 2019 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, 2019, there were approximately 1,399,866 shares available for future grants under the 2019 Plan.

The 2018 Plan, under which grants ceased upon approval of the 2019 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 2018 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. Awards may no longer be granted under the 2018 Plan as grants ceased upon approval of the 2019 Plan effective February 4, 2019 at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders. 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.

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 2019, 2018 and 2017 our employees forfeited 93,128, 74,204 and 49,684 shares, respectively in order to satisfy $1.1 million, $0.7 million and $0.7 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 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 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, $1.1 million and $0.7 million in fiscal 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Pursuant to the Purchase Plan, 111,036, 125,446, and 72,594 shares of common stock were issued to employees during fiscal 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Shares are issued under the Purchase Plan from treasury stock. As of September 30, 2019, 204,540 shares of common stock were available for future issuances under the Purchase Plan.

13. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION (CONTINUED)

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



	Fiscal year ended September 30,
	2019			2018			2017
Cost of sales	$	174		$	195		$	213
Sales and marketing	1,708			1,492			1,348
Research and development	996			516			656
General and administrative	2,777			2,651			2,442
Stock-based compensation before income taxes	5,655			4,854			4,659
Income tax benefit	(1,174		)	(1,017		)	(1,536		)
Stock-based compensation after income taxes	$	4,481		$	3,837		$	3,123

Stock Options

Below is a summary of our stock options as of September 30, 2019 and changes during the twelve months then ended (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, 2018	3,526		$10.49
Granted	736		12.01
Exercised	(540	)	9.02
Forfeited / Canceled	(374	)	12.39
Balance at September 30, 2019	3,348		$10.85	4.0	$	9,295

Exercisable at September 30, 2019	2,209		$16.45	3.2	$	7,027

(1) The aggregate intrinsic value represents the total pre-tax intrinsic value, based on our closing stock price of $13.62 as of September 30, 2019, 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, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was $2.1 million, $1.2 million and $0.9 million, respectively.

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 year ended September 30,
	2019		2018		2017
Weighted average per option grant date fair value	$	4.48	$	3.98	$	4.63
Assumptions used for option grants:
Risk free interest rate	1.60% - 2.93%		2.12% - 2.89%		1.46% - 1.96%
Expected term	6.00 years		6.00 years		6.00 years
Expected volatility	33% - 35%		33% - 34%		33% - 34%
Weighted average volatility	34%		33%		34%
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 above table. 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

13. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION (CONTINUED)

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, 2019, the total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested stock-based compensation arrangements, net of expected forfeitures, was $4.3 million. The related weighted average period over which this cost is expected to be recognized was approximately 2.7 years.

As of September 30, 2019, the weighted average exercise price and remaining life of the stock options were (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 - $9.03	533	3.28	$	8.20	524	$	8.18
$9.04 - $9.95	507	2.37	$	9.65	460	$	9.64
$9.96 - $10.40	481	5.17	$	10.34	215	$	10.34
$10.41 - $11.23	649	3.56	$	10.94	416	$	10.78
$11.24 - $12.63	676	4.85	$	12.09	329	$	12.31
$12.64 - $13.76	491	4.87	$	13.57	254	$	13.50
$13.77 - $14.75	11	1.82	$	14.75	11	$	14.75
$7.40 - $14.75	3,348	4.01	$	10.85	2,209	$	10.45

The total grant date fair value of shares vested was $3.5 million, $3.3 million and $2.4 million in each of fiscal 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Non-vested Restricted Stock Units

Below is a summary of our non-vested restricted stock units as of September 30, 2019 and changes during the twelve months then ended (in thousands, except per common share amounts):



	Number of Awards		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Nonvested at September 30, 2018	674		$	11.05
Granted	626		$	11.89
Vested	(255	)	$	10.45
Canceled	(157	)	$	12.04
Nonvested at September 30, 2019	888		$	11.65

As of September 30, 2019, the total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested restricted stock units was $7.5 million. The related weighted average period over which this cost is expected to be recognized was approximately 1.4 years.