Note G - Stock-based Compensation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Text Block]

G. Stock-Based Compensation

The Company maintains a stock-based compensation plan (the “Incentive Stock Plan”) that governs stock awards made to employees and directors prior to completion of the IPO.  

In   November 2014, the Board of Directors of the Company ("the Board"), and in   April 2015, the Company’s stockholders, approved the Company’s 2014 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2014 Plan”), which became effective in   April 2015. The 2014 Plan provides for the grant of stock options, other forms of equity compensation, and performance cash awards. In  June 2021, the Company's stockholders approved an Amended and Restated 2014 Equity Incentive Plan (the "A&R 2014 Plan"), following its adoption by the Board in April 2021, which among other things added 4,900,000 shares to the maximum number of shares of common stock to be issued under the plan and extended the annual automatic increases (discussed further below) until  January 1, 2031 and eliminated individual grant limits that applied under the 2014 Plan to awards that were intended to comply with the exemption for "performance-based compensation" under Code Section 162(m). The maximum number of shares of common stock that   may be issued under the A&R 2014 Plan is 5,489,660 as of March 31, 2022. The number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the A&R 2014 Plan will automatically increase on   January 1 of each year, beginning on   January 1, 2016, and ending on and including   January 1, 2031, by 4% of the total number of shares of the Company’s capital stock outstanding on December 31 of the preceding calendar year, or a lesser number of shares determined by the Board. Pursuant to the terms of the 2014 Plan, on   January 1, 2022, the common stock reserved for issuance under the 2014 Plan automatically increased by 1,400,225 shares.

During the three months ended  March 31, 2022, and 2021, no stock options were exercised.

Stock-based compensation expense recorded under the 2014 Plan and A&R 2014 Plan is included in the following line items in the accompanying unaudited condensed statements of operations (in thousands):

	Three months ended March 31,
	2022		2021
Research and development	$	311	$	296
General and administrative		607		379
Total stock-based compensation expense	$	918	$	675

There was no stock-based compensation expense related to performance-based awards recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2022, and $0.4 million of stock-based compensation expense related to performance-based awards recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2021.