SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

6 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

NOTE 6 SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

Stock Options

In October 2021 and January 2022, the Company granted options to non-employee directors to purchase an aggregate of 58,000 and 83,000 shares, respectively, of its common stock at an exercise price of $2.39 and $1.56 per share, respectively. The options expire five years from the date of grant, approximately half vested immediately and approximately half vest one year from the date of grant. The options have a weighted average grant-date fair value of $1.03 and $0.72 per share, respectively, and each grant has an aggregate grant-date fair value of $60,000, which will be recognized ratably over the vesting period.

In January 2022, the Company granted options to one of its employees to purchase an aggregate of 14,000 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $1.56 per share. The options expire five years from the date of grant, approximately one-third vested immediately, approximately one-third vest one year from the date of grant and approximately one-third vest two years from the date of grant. The options have a weighted average grant-date fair value of $0.73 per share and an aggregate grant-date fair value of $10,000, which will be recognized ratably over the vesting period.

In February 2022, the Company granted options to one of its non-employee directors to purchase an aggregate of 31,000 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $1.68 per share. The options vest one year from the date of grant and expire five years from the date of grant. The options have a weighted average grant-date fair value of $0.80 per share and an aggregate grant-date fair value of $25,000, which will be recognized ratably over the vesting period.

In February 2022, the Company granted options to one of its former non-employee directors to purchase an aggregate of 19,000 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $1.68 per share. The options vested immediately and expire ten years from the date of grant. The options have a weighted average grant-date fair value of $1.07 per share and an aggregate grant-date fair value of $20,000, which was fully recognized on the grant date.

There were no options exercised during the six months ended March 31, 2022. During the six months ended March 31, 2021, the Company issued 69,000 shares of its common stock pursuant to the exercise of stock options for aggregate cash proceeds of $144,000, which had an aggregate intrinsic value of $122,000.

The Company recognized compensation expense for stock option awards of $66,000 and $21,000 during the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and $105,000 and $63,000 during the six months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, which was recorded as a component of general and administrative expenses in its condensed consolidated statements of operations. At March 31, 2022, there was $54,000 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested stock option awards that is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 0.8 years.