Note 19 - Stock Options

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Notes to Financial Statements

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Text Block]

NOTE 19.     STOCK OPTIONS 

The following table summarizes the stockholder approved plans pursuant to which equity awards are granted together with the number of shares authorized for the issuance and the approximate number of shares available for future grants at December 31, 2024:

			# Available
	# Approved by		December 31,
Stockholder approved plan	Stockholders		2024
2012 Share Incentive Plan		750,000		—
2015 Executive and Employee Stock Option Plan		2,000,000		260,000
2017 Executive and Employee Stock Option Plan		3,000,000		290,000
2019 Share Incentive Plan		2,000,000		270,000
2021 Share Incentive Plan		1,375,000		180,000
2023 Share Incentive Plan		1,600,000		880,000

On January 15, 2025, the Company granted employees and directors approximately 800,000 options to purchase common shares of the Company's stock at an exercise price of $1.42. All options granted were pursuant to the plans noted above. The employee options vest over a period of three years and the directors options vest over a period of one year.

The status of the Company’s stock options is summarized as follows:

				Weighted average
	Number of options			exercise price
Outstanding at December 31, 2022		6,520,444		$	7.12
Granted		1,527,865			2.63
Exercised		(57,000	)		2.65
Canceled and forfeited		(648,426	)		6.18
Outstanding at December 31, 2023		7,342,883		$	6.31
Granted		1,587,929			2.26
Exercised		(569	)		2.50
Canceled and forfeited		(1,291,785	)		6.09
Outstanding at December 31, 2024		7,638,458		$	5.50

	Number of options			Weighted average grant date fair value
Non-vested at December 31, 2023		2,055,781		$	3.90
Granted		1,587,929			1.74
Vested		(1,108,650	)		4.17
Forfeited		(414,413	)		2.16
Non-vested at December 31, 2024		2,120,647		$	2.49

Common shares required to be issued upon the exercise of stock options would be issued from authorized and unissued shares. Options are valued using the Black-Scholes model. For employee grants, the Company calculates expected life via the simplified method. For non-employee grants, the Company calculates expected life using a combination of past exercise behavior, the contractual term and expected remaining exercise behavior. Inputs used in the valuation models are as follows:

	2024 Grants		2023 Grants
Exercise price	1.02 - 2.42		2.50 - 4.21
Risk-free rate		3.9% - 4.2%		3.6% - 4.3%
Expected dividend yield		—		—
Expected volatility		92.1% - 95.1%		85.8% - 88.4%
Expected term (in years)		6		6

The Company recognized approximately $4,013,000 and $5,114,000 in stock-based compensation expense during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

The intrinsic value of each option share is the difference between the fair value of our common stock and the exercise price of such option share to the extent it is “in-the-money”. Aggregate intrinsic value represents the value that would have been received by the holders of in-the-money options had they exercised their options on the last trading day of the year and sold the underlying shares at the closing stock price on such day. The intrinsic value calculation at December 31, 2024 is based on the $1.58 closing stock price of the Company's common stock on December 31, 2024, the last trading day of 2024.

As of December 31, 2024, there were 7,214,329 stock options outstanding and expected to vest with an aggregate intrinsic value of approximately $60,000. These options have a weighted average exercise price of $5.62 and a weighted average remaining contractual term of approximately 6 years.

As of December 31, 2024, there were 5,517,811 stock options outstanding and exercisable with an aggregate intrinsic value of approximately $30,000. These options have a weighted average exercise price of $6.26 and a weighted average remaining contractual term of approximately 5 years.

The total intrinsic value of in the money options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, was approximately $0 and $210,000, respectively. Intrinsic value of exercised shares is the fair value of such shares on the date of exercise less the exercise price of the option on the exercise date.

The total fair value of options granted during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, was approximately $2,770,000 and $2,980,000, respectively. The weighted average fair value of options granted during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, was $1.74 and $1.95, respectively. The total fair value of options vested during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, was approximately $4,620,000 and $6,900,000, respectively.

The Company allows employees to exercise stock-based awards by surrendering stock-based awards with an intrinsic value equal to the cumulative exercise price of the stock-based awards being exercised, referred to as net settlements. These surrenders are included in stock options exercised in the options rollforward above. During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company received 531 and 10,967 options as payment in the exercise of 38 and 11,033 options, respectively.

As of December 31, 2024, there was approximately $2,140,000 of total unrecognized stock-based compensation expense, related to unvested stock options granted under the plans above. This expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 1 year.