Acrivon Therapeutics, Inc. Stock Compensation Disclosure
9. Stock-Based Compensation
Equity Incentive Plans
In October 2022, the Board adopted, and in November 2022 its stockholders approved, the 2022 Plan, which became effective immediately prior to and contingent upon the execution of the underwriting agreement related to the Company’s IPO. The 2022 Plan allows the Company to make equity-based and cash-based incentive awards to its officers, employees, directors, and consultants and provides for the grant of incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards, RSUs, and other stock-based awards. In addition, the number of shares reserved and available for issuance under the 2022 Plan shall automatically increase beginning on January 1, 2023 and each January 1 thereafter, by five percent of the aggregate number of shares of common stock of all classes issued and outstanding on the immediately preceding December 31 or such lesser number of shares of common stock as determined by the compensation committee. The shares of common stock underlying any awards under the 2022 Plan that are forfeited, canceled, held back upon exercise or settlement of an award to satisfy the exercise price or tax withholding, reacquired by the Company prior to vesting, satisfied without the issuance of stock, expire, or are otherwise terminated (other than by exercise) will be added back to the shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2022 Plan. As of December 31, 2024, there were 1,539,356 shares reserved for future issuance under the 2022 Plan.
In October 2022, the Board adopted, and in November 2022 its stockholders approved, the 2022 ESPP, which became effective immediately prior to and contingent upon the execution of the underwriting agreement related to the Company’s IPO. The number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the 2022 ESPP shall cumulatively increase beginning on January 1, 2023 and each January 1 thereafter through January 1, 2032, by one percent of the outstanding number of shares of common stock on the immediately preceding December 31 or such lesser number of shares as determined by the compensation committee. No shares of the Company's common stock have been issued and no stock-based compensation expense has been recognized related to the 2022 ESPP. As of December 31, 2024, there were 659,430 shares reserved for future issuance under the 2022 ESPP.
In June 2023, the Board adopted the Inducement Plan to facilitate the granting of equity awards as an inducement material to new employees joining the Company. The Inducement Plan is administered by the compensation committee of the Board. The only persons eligible to receive awards under the Inducement Plan are individuals who are new employees and satisfy the standards for inducement grants under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) or 5635(c)(3), as applicable. The terms of the Inducement Plan are identical to the terms of the 2022 Plan, except that no incentive stock options shall be awarded under the Inducement Plan. As of December 31, 2024, there were 202,561 shares reserved for future issuance under the Inducement Plan.
Stock Options
The Company has granted stock options with service-based vesting conditions. Stock options typically vest over four years and have a maximum term of ten years. The Company typically grants stock options to employees and non-employees at exercise prices deemed by the Board to be equal to the fair value of the common stock at the time of grant.
The assumptions that the Company used in the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to determine the grant date fair value of stock options granted during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:
|
|
December 31, |
||
|
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
Risk-free interest rate range |
|
3.76% - 4.57% |
|
3.40% - 4.84% |
Dividend yield |
|
0.00% |
|
0.00% |
Expected life of options (years) |
|
5.5 - 6.1 |
|
5.8 - 6.1 |
Volatility rate range |
|
81.06% - 89.65% |
|
81.63% - 83.55% |
Fair value of common stock range |
|
$3.54 - $9.49 |
|
$3.89 - $20.50 |
The following table summarizes the Company’s stock option activity during the year ended December 31, 2024:
|
|
Number |
|
|
Weighted-Average |
|
|
Weighted-Average |
|
|
Aggregate Intrinsic |
|
||||
Outstanding as of December 31, 2023 |
|
|
3,117,042 |
|
|
$ |
7.04 |
|
|
|
8.34 |
|
|
$ |
3,409 |
|
Granted |
|
|
1,489,758 |
|
|
|
5.86 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Exercised |
|
|
(30,875 |
) |
|
|
2.91 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Forfeited or canceled |
|
|
(90,379 |
) |
|
|
4.04 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Outstanding as of December 31, 2024 |
|
|
4,485,546 |
|
|
$ |
6.73 |
|
|
|
8.00 |
|
|
$ |
5,646 |
|
Vested and expected to vest as of December 31, 2024 |
|
|
4,485,546 |
|
|
$ |
6.73 |
|
|
|
8.00 |
|
|
$ |
5,646 |
|
Vested and exercisable as of December 31, 2024 |
|
|
1,995,597 |
|
|
$ |
6.15 |
|
|
|
7.22 |
|
|
$ |
4,214 |
|
The aggregate intrinsic value of options is calculated as the difference between the exercise price of the stock options and the fair value of the Company’s common stock for those stock options that had exercise prices lower than the fair value of the common stock as of the end of the reporting period. The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 was $0.1 million and $2.1 million, respectively.
The weighted-average grant date fair value of the Company’s stock options granted during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 was $4.25 and $7.59 per option, respectively. As of December 31, 2024, there was $11.4 million of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to stock option grants. The Company expects to recognize this amount over a weighted-average period of 2.3 years.
The total fair value of options vested during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 was $4.1 million and $4.2 million, respectively.
RSUs
The Company has granted RSUs with service vesting based conditions. Unvested shares of restricted common stock may not be sold or transferred by the holder. They are legally issued and outstanding. These restrictions lapse according to the time-based vesting of each award.
The following table summarizes the Company’s RSU activity during the year ended December 31, 2024:
|
|
Restricted Stock Units |
|
|
Weighted-Average |
|
||
Unvested at December 31, 2023 |
|
|
1,759,918 |
|
|
$ |
12.09 |
|
Vested |
|
|
(784,143 |
) |
|
|
12.13 |
|
Forfeited |
|
|
(225 |
) |
|
|
3.89 |
|
Unvested at December 31, 2024 |
|
|
975,550 |
|
|
$ |
12.06 |
|
RSUs typically vest over four years. If and when an RSU vests, the Company will issue one share of common stock for each whole RSU that has vested, subject to satisfaction of the employee's tax withholding obligations. Upon vesting and settlement of RSUs, the Company may withhold the portion of those shares with a fair market value equal to the amount of the minimum statutory withholding taxes due. The withheld shares are accounted for as repurchases of common stock.
No RSUs were granted during the year ended December 31, 2024.The weighted-average grant date fair value of the Company’s RSUs granted during the year ended December 31, 2023 was $11.20 per RSU. As of December 31, 2024, there was $10.6 million of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to RSUs. The Company expects to recognize this amount over a weighted-average period of 1.3 years.
The total fair value of RSUs vested during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 was $9.5 million and $7.1 million, respectively.
Stock-Based Compensation Expense
Stock-based compensation expense included in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 is as follows (in thousands):
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
|||||
|
|
2024 |
|
|
2023 |
|
||
General and administrative |
|
$ |
11,206 |
|
|
$ |
9,089 |
|
Research and development |
|
|
3,082 |
|
|
|
2,529 |
|
Total stock-based compensation expense |
|
$ |
14,288 |
|
|
$ |
11,618 |
|
About Stock Compensation Disclosures
Stock-based compensation disclosures detail the equity awards granted to employees and executives — including stock options, restricted stock units (RSUs), and performance shares — along with the valuation methods and assumptions used to expense them. This section reveals the true cost of talent retention and the alignment between management incentives and shareholder interests.
Key signals: total unrecognized compensation expense and its expected recognition period signal future earnings headwinds from already-granted awards. For stock options, examine Black-Scholes assumptions — expected volatility, risk-free rate, and expected term — as understating any of these reduces reported compensation expense. Compare stock compensation expense as a percentage of revenue against peers to assess dilution cost. Watch vesting schedules for acceleration clauses tied to change-of-control events. Performance-based awards with undemanding targets may indicate weak governance. Add back stock compensation to operating cash flow to calculate a more conservative free cash flow figure.