NOTE 7 — STOCK AWARD PLAN AND STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

In December 2013, the Company adopted the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (as subsequently amended and restated, the “Plan”), which provides for the issuance of options, stock appreciation rights, stock awards and stock units. As of December 31, 2024, the total shares authorized for issuance under the Plan were 2,078,917.

Stock Option Awards

Stock option activity for employees and non-employees for the year ended December 31, 2024 is as follows:

 

 

Shares
Issuable
Pursuant to
Stock Options

 

 

Weighted-
Average
Exercise Price

 

 

Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Terms (years)

 

 

Total Intrinsic
Value
(in thousands)

 

Outstanding January 1, 2024

 

 

1,157,229

 

 

$

11.36

 

 

 

8.5

 

 

$

745

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Granted

 

 

451,500

 

 

$

2.12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercised

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cancelled/Forfeited

 

 

(115,000

)

 

$

12.05

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expired

 

 

(6,495

)

 

$

48.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outstanding December 31, 2024

 

 

1,487,234

 

 

$

8.34

 

 

 

8.3

 

 

$

46

 

Exercisable December 31, 2024

 

 

576,351

 

 

$

15.37

 

 

 

7.0

 

 

$

 

Available for future grant

 

 

32,361

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weighted average grant-date fair value of stock options outstanding on December 31, 2024 was $6.17 per share. Total unrecognized compensation costs related to non-vested stock options at December 31, 2024 were approximately $2.8 million and are expected to be recognized within future operating results over a weighted-average period of 2.6 years. Generally, stock options are granted using exercise prices equal to the market price at the date of grant, vest over four years for employees and one year for directors, and are exercisable over a maximum period of 10 years from their grant dates.

The expected term of the employee-related options was estimated using the “simplified” method as defined by the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 107, Share-Based Payment. The volatility assumption was determined by examining the historical volatility of the Company and volatilities for industry peer companies. The risk-free interest rate assumption is based on the U.S. Treasury instruments, the term of which was consistent with the expected term of the options. The dividend assumption is based on the Company’s history and expectation of dividend payouts. The Company has never paid dividends on its common stock and does not anticipate paying dividends on its common stock in the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the Company has assumed no dividend yield for the purposes of estimating the fair value of the options.

The Company uses the Black-Scholes model to estimate the fair value of stock options granted. For stock options granted during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company utilized the following assumptions:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

2024

 

2023

Expected term (years)

 

5.50 - 6.25

 

5.50 - 6.25

Risk free interest rate

 

4.08% - 4.10%

 

4.68% - 4.74%

Volatility

 

121% - 126%

 

115% - 119%

Dividend yield

 

0%

 

0%

Weighted average grant date fair value per share of common stock

 

$1.88

 

$5.67

Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units

On August 6, 2021, options to purchase 953,980 shares of the Company’s common stock were exchanged for 476,640 PRSUs. Options surrendered in the one-time stock option exchange program (the “Exchange Program”) were cancelled and shares subject to the cancelled options again became available for issuance under the Plan. The Exchange Program was treated as a Type II modification (Probable-to improbable) under ASC 718.

The Company used the pre-modification stock options for determining the compensation cost related to the PRSUs as the vesting conditions remain uncertain for the outstanding PRSUs. All expense related to the non-vested pre-modification stock options was fully recognized as of December 31, 2023.

On April 28, 2023, the Compensation Committee of the Company’s board of directors certified the achievement of a performance condition occurring upon FDA acceptance of the NDA for roluperidone. As a result, 50% of the shares of common stock underlying the Company’s PRSUs vested and the Company recognized approximately $0.2 million in non-cash compensation expense, representing 50% of the incremental cost of the PRSUs granted under the Exchange Program. The incremental cost was measured as

the excess of the fair value of each new PRSU, measured as of the date the new PRSUs were granted, over the fair value of the stock options surrendered in exchange for the new PRSU, measured immediately prior to the cancellation. The remaining PRSUs vest upon roluperidone receiving FDA marketing approval, provided that such approval occurs within five years after the August 6, 2021 grant date. As of December 31, 2024, 228,213 PRSUs have vested, 20,218 have been cancelled, and 228,209 remain outstanding.

The following table presents stock-based compensation expense included in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2024

 

 

2023

 

Research and development

 

$

450,537

 

 

$

909,845

 

General and administrative

 

 

874,988

 

 

 

1,058,536

 

Total

 

$

1,325,525

 

 

$

1,968,381

 

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.