Note 6 - Stock-based Compensation and Option Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Text Block]

6.  Stock-Based Compensation and Option Plans

The Company’s Amended and Restated 2005 Employee Long-Term Equity Incentive Plan reserves 1,683,639 shares of Abraxas common stock, subject to adjustment following certain events. Awards may be in options or shares of restricted stock. Options have a term not to exceed 10 years. Options issued under this plan vest according to a vesting schedule as determined by the compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors. Vesting may occur upon (1) the attainment of one or more performance goals or targets established by the committee, (2) the optionee’s continued employment or service for a specified period of time, (3) the occurrence of any event or the satisfaction of any other condition specified by the committee, or (4) a combination of any of the foregoing.

Stock Options

The Company grants options to its officers, directors, and other employees under various stock option and incentive plans. There were no options granted in 2021 or 2022

The following table is a summary of the Company’s stock option activity for the two years ended December 31:

	Options			Weighted average		Weighted average		Intrinsic value
	(000s)			exercise price		remaining life		per share
Options outstanding December 31, 2020		196		$	49.69
Forfeited/Expired		(141	)		48.11
Options outstanding December 31, 2021		55		$	53.79
Forfeited/Expired		(55	)		53.79
Options outstanding December 31, 2022		-		$	-		-	$	-
Exercisable at end of year		-		$	-		-	$	-

Restricted Stock Awards

Restricted stock awards are awards of common stock that are subject to restrictions on transfer and to a risk of forfeiture if the awardee terminates employment with the Company prior to the lapse of the restrictions. The value of such stock is determined using the market price on the grant date. Compensation expense is recorded over the applicable restricted stock vesting periods. 

The following table is a summary of the Company’s restricted stock activity for the two years ended December 31, 2022:

	Number of Shares			Weighted average grant date fair value
Unvested December 31, 2020		41		$	31.37
Granted		(24	)		33.23
Vested/Released		(3	)		32.07
Unvested December 31, 2021		14		$	27.97
Granted		1,650			1.25
Vested/Released		(1,664	)		2.10
Unvested December 31, 2022		-		$	-

Performance Based Restricted Stock Awards

Effective on April 1, 2018, the Company issued performance-based shares of restricted stock to certain officers and employees under the Abraxas Petroleum Corporation Amended and Restated 2005 Employee Long-Term Equity Incentive Plan. The shares vested over a three-year period upon the achievement of performance goals based on the Company’s Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) as compared to a peer group of companies.   No shares were vested under this plan due to not achieving the performance goals.

The table below provides a summary of Performance Based Restricted Stock as of the date indicated (shares in thousands):

	Number of Shares			Weighted average grant date fair value
Unvested December 31, 2020		44		$	33.73
Granted		-			-
Vested/Released		-			-
Forfeited		(16	)		45.73
Unvested December 31, 2021		28		$	26.80
Granted		-			-
Vested/Released		-			-
Forfeited		(28	)		26.80
Unvested December 31, 2022		-		$	-

Compensation expense associated with the performance based restricted stock is based on the grant date fair value of a single share as determined using a Monte Carlo Simulation model which utilizes a stochastic process to create a range of potential future outcomes given a variety of inputs. As the Compensation Committee intends to settle the performance based restricted stock awards with shares of the Company’s common stock, the awards are accounted for as equity awards and the expense is calculated on the grant date assuming a 100% target payout and amortized over the life of the awards.

Director Stock Awards

The 2005 Directors Plan (as amended and restated) reserves 70,000 shares of Abraxas common stock, subject to adjustment following certain events. The 2005 Directors Plan provides that each year, at the first regular meeting of the board of directors immediately following Abraxas’ annual stockholder’s meeting, each non-employee director shall be granted or issued awards restricted stock with a value at the date of the grant of $12,000, for participation in board and committee meetings during the previous calendar year. There were no awards under this plan in 2021 or 2022.

At December 31, 2022, the Company had approximately 418,000 shares reserved, under its Employee and Directors plans, for future issuance for conversion of its stock options, and incentive plans for the Company’s directors, employees and consultants.

All shares reserved under the Employee and Directors plans were cancelled in January 2023.