Stock Authorization

The Board of Directors is authorized to issue from time to time up to an aggregate of 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, in one or more series. Each such series of preferred stock shall have the number of shares, designations, preferences, voting powers, qualifications and special or relative rights or privileges to be determined by the Board of Directors, including dividend rights, voting rights, redemption rights and sinking fund provisions, liquidation preferences, conversion rights and preemptive rights. No preferred stock has been issued as of January 31, 2020. We have designated 1,000,000 shares of Series A Participating Preferred Stock in connection with our Rights Plan (as defined below).

Equity Plans

2011 Compensation and Incentive Plan.

Our 2011 Compensation and Incentive Plan (the “2011 Plan”) provides for the grant of incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), deferred stock units (“DSUs”), performance stock units (“PSUs”) and other equity based non-stock option awards as determined by the plan administrator to our officers, employees, consultants, and directors. We may satisfy awards upon the exercise of stock options or the vesting of stock units with newly issued shares or treasury shares. The Board of Directors is responsible for the administration of the 2011 Plan and determining the terms of each award, award exercise price, the number of shares for which each award is granted and the rate at which each award vests. In certain instances, the Board of Directors may elect to modify the terms of an award. The number of shares authorized for issuance under the 2011 Plan is 9,300,000. Additionally, outstanding awards under our 2005 Equity Compensation and Incentive Plan that expired, terminated, surrendered or canceled without having been fully exercised became available for issuance under the 2011 Plan. As of January 31, 2020, there were 2,719,297 shares available for future grant.      

Nonemployee members of the Board of Directors may elect to receive DSUs in lieu of RSUs. The number of units subject to the DSUs is determined as of the grant date and shall fully vest one year from the grant date. The shares underlying the DSUs are not vested and issued until the earlier of the director ceasing to be a member of the Board of Directors (provided such time is subsequent to the first day of the succeeding fiscal year) or immediately prior to a change in control.

Option awards may be granted to employees at an exercise price per share of not less than 100% of the fair market value per common share on the date of the grant. Option awards granted under the 2011 Plan generally vest over a period of one to three years and expire ten years from the date of the grant.

We have a Long-Term Incentive Program (“LTI Program”), adopted in fiscal 2016, under which the named executive officers and other of our key employees may receive long-term equity-based incentive awards, which are intended to align the interests of our named executive officers and other key employees with the long-term interests of our stockholders and to emphasize and reinforce our focus on team success. Long-term equity-based incentive compensation awards are made in the form of stock options, RSUs and PSUs subject to vesting based in part on the extent to which employment continues. 

2015 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Under our 2015 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP), six-month offering periods begin on October 1 and April 1 of each year during which eligible employees may elect to purchase shares of our common stock according to the terms of the offering.  On each purchase date, eligible employees can purchase our stock at a price per share equal to 85% of the closing price of our common stock on the exercise date, but no less than par value.  The maximum number of shares of our common stock authorized for sale under the ESPP is 1,150,000 shares of which 1,080,726 remain available under the ESPP as of January 31, 2020.  Under the ESPP, 14,057 and 12,794 shares were purchased during fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019, respectively.

Stock Option Valuation

Service-Based Options

We measure the fair value of service-based options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Key input assumptions used to estimate the fair value of stock options include the exercise price, the expected option term, the risk-free interest rate over the option’s expected term, the expected annual dividend yield and the expected stock price volatility. The expected option term was determined using the “simplified” method for “plain vanilla” options. The expected stock price volatility was established using the historical volatility of our common stock over a period of time equal to the expected term of the stock option. The risk-free interest rate is based upon the U.S. treasury bond yield at the grant date, using a remaining term equal to the expected life. The expected dividend yield is 0%, as we have not paid cash dividends on our common stock since our inception.

The following table presents, on a weighted average basis, the assumptions used in the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the fair value of stock options granted:

Market-Based Options

Our former CEO was granted 800,000 market-based options issued in fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2017. These stock options vest in approximately equal increments based upon the closing price of our common stock achieving a certain level and continued service conditions. We measured the grant-date fair value of these options using a Monte Carlo simulation model and recognized the associated expense over the requisite service period. The fair value of these stock options was $2.1 million, which was recognized over three years. In February 2019, these options were cancelled upon the resignation of our CEO, at which time we reversed $0.5 million of stock-based compensation expense related to the final performance period for a portion of the grant.

We have not granted additional market-based options since fiscal 2017.

Stock Option Activity

The following table summarizes our stock option activity:

The weighted average grant-date fair values of stock options granted during the years ended January 31, 2020 and 2019 were $1.94 per share and $0.86 per share, respectively.

Stock Units

We have granted RSUs and DSUs with service-based vesting criteria that generally vest over one to three years. In fiscal 2020, we granted 744,931 DSU shares and 128,961 RSU shares. In fiscal 2019, we granted 156,250 DSU shares and 389,500 RSU shares. We have also granted PSUs with performance-based and market-based vesting criteria. In fiscal 2019, we granted an aggregate of 210,000 performance-based PSUs to employees under the LTI Program. We did not grant any PSUs in fiscal 2020. The PSUs vest in three equal annual installments upon the achievement of certain Company-specific goals in each of the three years.

The following table summarizes our stock unit activity:

Stock-Based Compensation

We recognized stock-based compensation expense within the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss as follows:

As of January 31, 2020, unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested stock options was approximately $1.7 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.34 years.  As of January 31, 2020, unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested RSUs and DSUs was $1.0 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average amortization period of 1.37 years.

Tax Benefits Preservation Plan

On March 4, 2019, we entered into the a Tax Benefits Preservation Plan in the form of a stockholder rights agreement (“Rights Agreement”) and issued a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (a “Right”) for each share of common stock payable on March 15, 2019 to the stockholders of record of such shares on that date. Each Right entitles the registered holder, under certain circumstances, to purchase from us one one-hundredth of a share of Series A Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Preferred Shares”), of the Company, at a price of $8.00 per one one-hundredth of a Preferred Share represented by a Right (the “Purchase Price”), subject to adjustment. The description and terms of the Rights are set forth in the Rights Agreement.

The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Date (as defined in the Rights Agreement). Until a Right is exercised, the holder thereof, as such, will have no rights as a stockholder of the Company, including, without limitation, the right to vote or to receive dividends.

At any time prior to ten (10) business days after the time any Person becomes an Acquiring Person (as defined in the Rights Agreement), the Board may redeem the Rights in whole, but not in part, at a price of $0.0001 per Right (the “Redemption Price”). The redemption of the Rights may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board in its sole discretion may establish. Immediately upon any redemption of the Rights, the right to exercise the Rights will terminate and the only right of the holders of Rights will be to receive the Redemption Price.

The Rights will expire on the earlier of (i) the time at which the Rights are redeemed, (ii) the time at which the Rights are exchanged, (iii) the consummation of a reorganization transaction entered into by the Company resulting in stock transfer restrictions similar to the Rights Agreement, (iv) the close of business on the effective date of the repeal of Section 382 (as defined in the Rights Agreement) or if the Rights Agreement is no longer necessary for the preservation of NOLs, (v) the date on which the Board determines that the Rights Agreement is no longer necessary to preserve NOLs, (vi) the beginning of the taxable year to which the Board determines that none of the NOLs may be carried forward or (vii) the close of business on March 4, 2022 (the “Final Expiration Date”).

On June 28, 2019, we entered into an amendment to the Rights Agreement, between us and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as rights agent, for the purpose of modifying the definition of “Final Expiration Date” to delete the extension of the Final Expiration Date in the event any person becomes an Acquiring Person (as defined in the Rights Agreement).

On August 8, 2019, we entered into an amendment No. 2 to the Rights Agreement, between us and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as rights agent, for the purpose of modifying the definition of “Acquiring Person” to not include TAR Holdings and their respective affiliates and associates, provided the aggregate beneficial ownership of TAR Holdings does not exceed 25.0% of the Company securities then outstanding.