Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

v3.4.0.3
STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2016
Disclosure Of Compensation Related Costs, Share-Based Payments [Abstract]  
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Text Block]
NOTE 5 – STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
 
2012 incentive stock option plan
 
In April 2012, the Company’s stockholders approved the 2012 Incentive Stock Option Plan (the “2012 Plan”). The 2012 Plan provides for the issuance of options to purchase up to 200,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to officers, directors, employees and consultants of the Company. Under the terms of the 2012 Plan, the Company may issue incentive stock options as defined by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) to employees of the Company and may also issue nonstatutory options to employees and others. The Company’s board of directors (“Board of Directors”) determines the exercise price, vesting and expiration period of the grants under the 2012 Plan. However, the exercise price of an incentive stock option may not be less than 110% of fair value of the common stock at the date of the grant for a 10% or more shareholder and 100% of fair value for a grantee who is not a 10% shareholder. The fair value of the common stock is determined based on quoted market price or in absence of such quoted market price, by the Board of Directors in good faith. Additionally, the vesting period of the grants under the 2012 Plan may not be more than five years and expiration period not more than ten years. The Company reserved 200,000 shares of its common stock for future issuance under the terms of the 2012 Plan. On February 12, 2013, the 2012 Plan was amended and restated to increase the number of shares reserved under the plan to 550,000. At March 31, 2016, all reserved shares under the 2012 Plan were subject to granted awards outstanding.
  
2014 incentive stock plan
 
On June 9, 2014, the Company’s stockholders approved the Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. 2014 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2014 Plan” and together with the 2012 Plan, the “Plans”).
 
Under the terms of the 2014 Plan, the Company may issue (1) stock options (incentive and nonstatutory), (2) restricted stock, (3) stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), (4) RSUs, (5) other stock-based awards, and (6) cash-based awards. The 2014 Plan provides for the issuance of up to 1,800,000 shares of common stock, provided, however, that, of the aggregate number of 2014 Plan shares authorized, no more than 200,000 of such shares may be issued pursuant to stock-settled awards other than options (that is, restricted stock, RSUs, SARs, performance awards, other stock-based awards and dividend equivalent awards, in each case to the extent settled in shares of common stock). The Board of Directors determines the exercise price, vesting and expiration period of the grants under the 2014 Plan. However, the exercise price of an incentive stock option may not be less than 110% of fair value of the common stock at the date of the grant for a 10% or more shareholder and 100% of fair value for a grantee who is not a 10% shareholder. The fair value of the common stock is determined based on quoted market price or in absence of such quoted market price, by the Board of Directors in good faith. Additionally, the vesting period of the grants under the 2014 Plan may not be more than five years and expiration period not more than ten years. The Company reserved 1,800,000 shares of its common stock for future issuance under the terms of the 2014 Plan. As of March 31, 2016, 11,791 shares were available for future grants under the 2014 Plan.
 
Restricted stock units
 
On February 9, 2016, the Company granted an aggregate of 56,250 RSU’s to its non-employee directors for board services in 2016, in lieu of cash, which vest one year from the grant date with a fair value of $3.81.
 
In February 2016, 42,000 RSUs that were granted to our non-employee directors for board services in 2015, in lieu of cash, with a one year vesting from the grant date and a fair value of $6.24 at the date of grant, vested and 42,000 shares of the Company’s common stock were issued during the three months ended March 31, 2016.
 
The following table summarizes the restricted stock activity for the three months ended March 31, 2016:
 
Restricted stock units as of January 1, 2016
 
42,000
 
Granted
 
56,250
 
Forfeited
 
-
 
Vested
 
(42,000)
 
Unvested restricted stock units as of March 31, 2016
 
56,250
 
 
Stock-based compensation expense related to RSU grants was $79,000 and $22,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. As of March 31, 2016, the stock-based compensation relating to RSU’s of $0.2 million remains unamortized and is expected to be amortized over the remaining period of approximately ten months.       
 
General
 
A summary of the stock option activity and related information for the Plans for the three months ended March 31, 2016 is as follows:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Weighted-
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Weighted-
 
Average
 
Aggregate
 
 
 
 
 
Average
 
Remaining
 
Intrinsic
 
 
 
Shares
 
Exercise Price
 
Contractual Term
 
Value
 
Outstanding at January 1, 2016
 
 
1,656,643
 
$
10.64
 
 
 
 
$
1,125,299
 
Grants
 
 
603,000
 
$
5.03
 
 
 
 
$
-
 
Exercised
 
 
-
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Forfeitures or expirations
 
 
(19,684)
 
$
6.37
 
 
 
 
$
-
 
Outstanding at March 31, 2016
 
 
2,239,959
 
$
9.17
 
 
8.44
 
$
-
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Vested and expected to vest at March 31, 2016
 
 
2,239,959
 
$
9.17
 
 
8.44
 
$
-
 
Exercisable at March 31, 2016
 
 
980,714
 
$
12.66
 
 
7.70
 
$
-
 
 
The aggregate intrinsic value in the preceding tables represents the total pretax intrinsic value, based on options with an exercise price less than the Company’s closing stock price at the respective dates.
 
The Company measures the fair value of stock options on the date of grant, based on a Binomial option pricing model using certain assumptions discussed in the following paragraph, and the closing market price of the Company's common stock on the date of the grant. For employees and directors, the fair value of the award is measured on the grant date and for non-employees, the fair value of the award is generally re-measured on vesting dates and interim financial reporting dates until the service period is complete. Stock options granted pursuant to the Plans vest 1/3rd 12 months from the date of grant and 1/36th each month thereafter for 24 months and expire ten years from the date of grant. Stock-based compensation expense related to awards is amortized over the applicable vesting period using the straight-line method.
 
On February 9, 2016, 403,000 options were granted to employees with an exercise price of $5.03, a 10 year life and fair value of $2.49 per share. Additionally, the Company granted options to purchase 200,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to employees with an exercise price of $5.03, exercisable for a period of ten years, vesting 1/3 each upon the Company’s common stock having an average closing sale price equal to or exceeding each of $6.00, $7.00 and $8.00 per share for 20 consecutive trading days, subject to a one year minimum service period prior to vesting. 
 
On March 31, 2016, 1,080, 5,408 and 13,196 options with exercise prices of $9.87, $6.68 and $5.95, respectively, were cancelled.
 
On February 25, 2015, 419,500 and 30,000 options were granted to employees/directors and consultants, respectively, under the 2014 Plan (of which 415,700 employee/director options and 30,000 consultant options were outstanding at March 31, 2016) with an exercise price of $5.95, a 10 year life and fair value of $4.69. Additionally, the Company granted options to purchase 7,143 shares of the Company’s common stock to Seth Lederman, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, as a non-cash bonus, with an exercise price of $5.95, a 10 year life and fair value of $4.43. As of March 31, 2016, the fair value related to consultant grants was $1.53.
 
The assumptions used in the valuation of stock options granted during the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 were as follows:
 
 
 
Three Months
 Ended
 
Three Months
 Ended
 
 
 
March 31,
 2016
 
March 31, 
2015
 
Risk-free interest rate
 
 
0.85% to 1.86%
 
 
1.47% to 1.94%
 
Expected term of option
 
 
6.0 to 9.06 years
 
 
6.0 to 9.91 years
 
Expected stock price volatility
 
 
76.41% to 81.59%
 
 
90.35% to 92.13%
 
Expected dividend yield
 
$
0.0
 
$
0.0
 
 
The risk-free interest rate is based on the yield of Daily U.S. Treasury Yield Curve Rates with terms equal to the expected term of the options as of the grant date. The expected term of options is determined using the simplified method, as provided in an SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin, and the expected stock price volatility is based on comparable companies’ historical stock price volatility since the Company does not have sufficient historical exercise or volatility data because its equity shares have been publicly traded for only a limited period of time.
 
Stock-based compensation expense relating to options granted of $0.8 million and $1.3 million was recognized for the three month periods ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
 
As of March 31, 2016, the Company had approximately $4.3 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested awards granted under the Plans, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted average period of 1.85 years.
 
2014 employee stock purchase plan
 
On June 9, 2014, the Company’s stockholders approved the Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holdings Corp. 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2014 ESPP”). The 2014 ESPP allows eligible employees to purchase up to an aggregate of 300,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. Under the 2014 ESPP, on the first day of each offering period, each eligible employee for that offering period has the option to enroll for that offering period, which allows the eligible employees to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock at the end of the offering period. Each offering period under the 2014 ESPP is for six months, which can be modified from time-to-time. Subject to limitations, each participant will be permitted to purchase a number of shares determined by dividing the employee’s accumulated payroll deductions for the offering period by the applicable purchase price, which is equal to 85 percent of the fair market value of our common stock at the beginning or end of each offering period, whichever is less. A participant must designate in his or her enrollment package the percentage (if any) of compensation to be deducted during that offering period for the purchase of stock under the 2014 ESPP, subject to the statutory limit under the Code. As of March 31, 2016, there were 250,406 shares available for future issuance under the 2014 ESPP.
 
The compensation expense related to the 2014 ESPP for the quarters ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, was $59,000 and $22,000, respectively. As of March 31, 2016, approximately $68,000 of employee payroll deductions, which had been withheld since January 1, 2016, the commencement of the offering period ending June 30, 2016, are included in accrued expenses in the accompanying balance sheet. In January 2016, 17,595 shares that were purchased as of December 31, 2015, were issued under the 2014 ESPP, and the employee payroll deductions accumulated at December 31, 2015, related to acquiring such shares, were transferred from accrued expenses to additional paid in capital.