5. COMMON STOCK

75,000,000 authorized common shares, par value of $0.001, and 5,000,000 preferred shares, par value of $0.001. 

Equity Award Issuances and Settlements

During the three months ended March 31, 2017, we issued no shares of common stock to satisfy stock option exercises and 93,175 shares of common stock to satisfy restricted stock unit settlements, compared with the issuance of no shares of common stock to satisfy stock option exercises and 101,228 shares of common stock to satisfy restricted stock unit settlements, respectively, during the three months ended March 31, 2016.

2010 Performance Incentive Plan

As of March 31, 2017, we had reserved, pursuant to various plans, 3,531,437 common shares for issuance upon exercise of stock options and settlement of restricted stock units by employees, directors, officers and consultants of ours, of which 1,339,186 were reserved for options currently outstanding, 141,717 were reserved for restricted stock units currently outstanding and 2,050,534 were available for future equity grants.

Under the plan, we may grant options to purchase common shares or restricted stock units to our employees, directors, officers and consultants. The exercise price of the options is determined by our board of directors but will be at least equal to the fair value of the common shares at the grant date. The options vest in accordance with terms as determined by our board of directors, typically over three to four years for options issued to employees and consultants, and over one to three years for members of our board of directors. The expiry date for each option is set by our board of directors with a maximum expiry date of ten years from the date of grant. In addition, the 2010 Plan allows for accelerated vesting of outstanding equity awards in the event of a change in control. The terms for accelerated vesting, in the event of a change in control, is determined at our discretion and defined under the employment agreements for our officers and certain of our employees.

Stock Option Summary

We grant stock options that vest over time in accordance with terms as determined by our Board of Directors, or the Board, which terms are typically four years for employee and consultant grants and one to three years for Board option grants. We also grant stock option awards that vest in conjunction with certain performance conditions to executive officers, employees and consultants. At each reporting date, we are required to evaluate whether achievement of the performance conditions is probable. Compensation expense is recorded over the appropriate service period based upon our assessment of accomplishing each performance condition. The expiry date for each option is set by the Board, which is typically seven to ten years. The exercise price of the options is determined by the Board, but will be at least equal to the fair value of the share at the grant date.

Stock option transactions and the number of stock options outstanding are summarized below:

The fair value of each stock award for employees and directors is estimated on the grant date and for consultants at each reporting period, using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model based on the weighted-average assumptions noted in the following table:

The expected life was calculated based on the simplified method as permitted by the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin 110, Share-Based Payment. We consider the use of the simplified method appropriate because we believe our historical stock option exercise activity may not be indicative of future stock option exercise activity based upon strategic alternatives we are exploring and the structural changes to our business that may result and the potential impact on future stock option exercise activity. The expected volatility of options granted was calculated based on the historical volatility of the shares of our common stock. The risk-free interest rate is based on a U.S. Treasury instrument whose term is consistent with the expected life of the stock options. In addition to the assumptions above, as required under ASC 718, management made an estimate of expected forfeitures and is recognizing compensation costs only for those equity awards expected to vest. Forfeiture rates are estimated using historical actual forfeiture rates. These rates are adjusted on a quarterly basis and any change in compensation expense is recognized in the period of the change. We have never paid or declared cash dividends on our common stock and do not expect to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

The results for the periods set forth below included share-based compensation expense for stock options and restricted stock units in the following expense categories of the consolidated statements of loss (in thousands):

As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the total unrecognized compensation expense related to stock options granted was $0.4 million and $0.6 million respectively, which is expected to be recognized as expense over a period of approximately 1.1 years from March 31, 2017.

For the three months ended March 31, 2017, a total of 5.2 million shares, consisting of  3.7 million warrants, 1.3 million options and 0.1 million restricted stock units, have not been included in the loss per share computation, as their effect on diluted per share amounts would have been anti-dilutive. For the same period in 2016, a total of 7.2 million shares underlying options, restricted stock units and warrants have not been included in the loss per share computation.

We grant restricted stock unit awards that generally vest and are expensed over a four year period. We also grant restricted stock unit awards that vest in conjunction with certain performance conditions to certain executive officers, key employees and consultants. At each reporting date, we are required to evaluate whether achievement of the performance conditions is probable. Compensation expense is recorded over the appropriate service period based upon our assessment of accomplishing each performance condition. For the three months ended March 31, 2017, we recorded a compensation expense of $0.1 million related to these awards, compared to $0.2 million of compensation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2016.

The following table summarizes our restricted stock unit award activity during the three months ended March 31, 2017:

As of March 31, 2017, we had approximately $0.7 million in total unrecognized compensation expense related to our restricted stock unit awards that is to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 1.2 years.

We recognize non-employee stock-based compensation expense over the period of expected service by the non-employee. As the service is performed, we are required to update our valuation assumptions, re-measure unvested options and restricted stock units and record the stock-based compensation using the valuation as of the vesting date. This differs from the accounting for employee awards where the fair value is determined at the grant date and is not subsequently adjusted. This re-measurement may result in higher or lower stock-based compensation expense in the Consolidated Statements of Loss and Comprehensive Loss. As such, changes in the market price of our stock could materially change the value of an option or restricted stock unit and the resulting stock-based compensation expense.

The following is a summary of outstanding warrants to purchase common stock at March 31, 2017:

No warrants were exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2017 or 2016.  The Series A-1 Warrants issued in the April 2015 financing are classified as equity. The Series A and Series B warrants issued in the July 2014 financing are classified as liabilities. The estimated fair value of warrants issued and classified as liabilities is reassessed at each reporting date using the Black-Scholes option pricing model.