Employee and Director Benefit Plans

9 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2012

Employee and Director Benefit Plans [Abstract]

Employee and Director Benefit Plans [Text Block]

Employee and Director Benefit Plans

The Company grants common stock options and awards restricted stock units under its 2005 Equity Incentive Plan, grants common stock options under its 2005 Directors' Stock Option Plan and issues stock under its 2005 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, which plans have been approved by Versant's shareholders.

Shares Reserved for Future Issuance

At the Company's 2011 annual shareholder meeting, held on April 18, 2011, the shareholders approved an increase of 300,000 shares and 20,000 shares in the numbers of shares reserved under the Company's 2005 Equity Incentive Plan and 2005 Directors Stock Option Plan, respectively.

As of July 31, 2012, the Company had reserved shares of common stock for the following purposes (in thousands):

Reserved for issuance:
Employee Stock Purchase Plan	11
Shares available for grant under 2005 Equity Incentive Plan	309
Shares available for grant under 2005 Directors Stock Option Plan	23
Unexercised stock options and unvested restricted stock units	644
Balance as of July 31, 2012	987

The following table summarizes stock option activities under the Company’s equity-based compensation plans during the nine months ended July 31, 2012 and 2011:

	Nine Months Ended July 31,
	2012				2011
	Shares in thousands		Weighted average exercise price		Shares in thousands		Weighted average exercise price
Stock option activities:
Outstanding at the beginning of the period	651		$	15.20	515		$	16.84
Granted	62		10.80		165		11.96
Exercised	(13	)	9.42		(7	)	4.03
Forfeited and expired	(122	)	14.89		(26	)	26.98
Outstanding at the end of the period	578		$	14.92	647		$	15.31
Options exercisable at the end of the period	480		$	15.46	442		$	16.06

On February 21, 2012, the Board of Directors of the Company approved an amendment to the 2005 Equity Incentive Plan to allow the grant of restricted stock units under the plan. During the nine months ended July 31, 2012, the Board of Directors awarded 66,000 restricted stock units to employees which generally began vesting on December 1, 2011. These restricted stock units have a three-year vesting schedule in which 25% of the award vests after nine months and the remaining 75% vests ratably thereafter on a quarterly basis.

The following table summarizes restricted stock unit activities under the Company’s equity-based compensation plans during the nine months ended July 31, 2012 and 2011:

	Nine Months Ended July 31,
	2012
	Units in thousands		Weighted average grant date fair value
Restricted stock unit activities:
Unvested awards at the beginning of the period	—			$	—
Awards	66			10.58
Vesting	—			—
Forfeited	(1	)		10.74
Unvested awards at the end of the period	65			$	10.58

Under the 2005 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, employees may generally defer up to 10% of their compensation to purchase shares of our common stock at a discount equal to 15% of the lower of the fair market value per share of our common stock on (i) the commencement date of the applicable six month offering period or (ii) the applicable purchase date. During the nine months ended July 31, 2012, 19,032 shares were issued under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Approximately 11,000 shares remained available for future issuance under this plan as of July 31, 2012.