Stock Compensation Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

Stock-based compensation

Stock-based compensation related to the Company’s stock-based awards was recorded as an expense and allocated as follows (in thousands):


	Three months ended September 30,				Nine months ended September 30,
	2022		2021		2022		2021

Cost of sales	$	119	$	85	$	238	$	190
Research and development	1,264		1,508		5,137		4,168
Selling, general and administrative	3,798		4,369		11,764		11,727
Total stock-based compensation	$	5,181	$	5,962	$	17,139	$	16,085

Stock-based compensation capitalized in inventory was not material as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021.

Option Repricing

On May 19, 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors elected to reprice all outstanding stock options granted to non-executive employees of the Company under the Berkeley Lights, Inc. 2020 Incentive Plan with a strike price above the closing price of the Company’s common stock as reported by Nasdaq as of May 19, 2022. The new strike price for these repriced stock options is $4.91, which was the May 19, 2022 closing price. There were no other modifications to these options, including vesting schedules. Options representing 763,307 underlying shares were included in this repricing and the total incremental expense associated with the modification of these options was $1.5 million, of which $0.5 million was recorded in the second quarter of 2022 with the remaining to be recognized through February 22, 2026.

In addition, non-executive employees of the Company with outstanding options granted under the Berkeley Lights 2011 Equity Incentive Plan with a strike price above the closing price of the Company’s common stock as reported on Nasdaq as of May 19, 2022 were granted an RSU for every two stock options held with a strike price above the closing price as of May 19, 2022. These RSUs were granted on June 1, 2022 and vest in full on June 1, 2024, subject to the employee’s continued service. An aggregate total of 353,625 RSUs were granted to such employees resulting in $1.5 million of compensation expense, of which approximately $55 thousand was recorded in the second quarter of 2022 with the remaining to be recognized through June 1, 2024.

CEO Equity Grants

On March 10, 2022, the Company granted its newly appointed Chief Executive Officer 1,017,177 RSUs, 339,059 time-based stock options and 678,118 performance-based stock options (“PSOs”). The RSUs and time-based stock options vest quarterly over 3 years and the time-based stock options have a 10 year term.

The PSOs have a 7-year performance period, a 10-year term and vest based upon the achievement of certain market conditions and a continued service-based requirement. Market condition-related vesting is triggered based on the Company’s stock price reaching certain goals that range from two to 20 times the Company share price on the date of grant.

Although no PSOs will vest until a market condition is satisfied, as of March 31, 2022, the Company began recording stock-based compensation expense for each vesting tranche of the PSOs based on the estimated achievement date of the specified stock price target. The valuation and probability of achievement for each tranche is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation. The same Monte Carlo simulation is used as the basis for determining the expected achievement date. As the probability of achievement is factored in as part of the Monte Carlo simulation, the expense for these tranches will be recognized concurrently over each tranche’s estimated achievement date even if some or all of the PSOs never vest. If the related market condition for a tranche is achieved earlier than expected, all unamortized expense for such tranche will be recognized immediately. As of September 30, 2022, none of the PSOs had vested.