v3.26.1
Stockholders’ Equity
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2026
Equity [Abstract]  
Stockholders’ Equity

 

(9)Stockholders’ Equity

 

On June 4, 2025, the Company held its annual general meeting of shareholders, at which a proposal to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Restated Certificate”) to reduce the number of authorized shares of the Company’s common stock from 200,000,000 to 75,000,000 shares was approved. The Company filed the amendment to the Restated Certificate with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on June 4, 2025. The amendment to the Restated Certificate became effective upon filing with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware.

 

The Company is authorized to issue up to 75,000,000 shares of its common stock, par value $0.0001.

 

(a)Issuance of Common Stock

 

On April 26, 2024, the Company entered into a sales agreement with A.G.P. /Alliance Global Partners (“A.G.P.”) (the “A.G.P. Sales Agreement”) pursuant to which the Company may issue and sell, from time to time, shares of its common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to the amount the Company registered on an effective registration statement pursuant to which the offering is being made. As of February 26, 2026, the Company has registered $50,000,000 of common shares for sale under the A.G.P. Sales Agreement, pursuant to the Registration Statement on Form S-3, as amended (File No. 333-275716) (the “Form S-3”), through A.G.P. as the Company’s sales agent. A.G.P. may sell the Company’s common stock by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” (“ATM”) as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act, including sales made directly on or through the Nasdaq Capital Market or any other existing trade market for our common stock, in negotiated transactions at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at prices related to prevailing market prices, or any other method permitted by law. A.G.P. will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable law and regulations to sell shares under the A.G.P. Sales Agreement. The Company will pay A.G.P. 3.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds from each sale of shares under the A.G.P. Sales Agreement. In addition, the Company has also provided A.G.P. with customary indemnification rights.

 

The shares of the Company’s common stock to be sold under the A.G.P. Sales Agreement will be sold and issued pursuant to the Form S-3, as amended, which was previously declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the related prospectus and one or more prospectus supplements.

 

The Company is not obligated to make any sales of its common stock under the A.G.P. Sales Agreement. The offering of common stock pursuant to the A.G.P. Sales Agreement will terminate upon the termination of the A.G.P. Sales Agreement as permitted therein. The Company and A.G.P. may each terminate the A.G.P. Sales Agreement at any time upon ten days’ prior notice.

 

During the three months ended June 30, 2026, the Company sold 769,138 shares of common stock at a weighted average price of $2.02 per share under the A.G.P. Sales Agreement, for aggregate gross proceeds of $1.6 million and net proceeds of $1.5 million, after deducting sales agent commissions, discounts and other offering costs. During the six months ended June 30, 2026, the Company sold 2,083,276 shares of common stock at a weighted average price of $6.67 per share under the A.G.P. Sales Agreement, for aggregate gross proceeds of $13.9 million and net proceeds of $13.5 million, after deducting sales agent commissions, discounts and other offering costs.

 

  (b)Rights Agreement

 

On November 13, 2015, the Company and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, as Rights Agent, entered into a Rights Agreement (the “Rights Agreement”). Also on November 12, 2015, the Board of the Company authorized and the Company declared a dividend of one preferred stock purchase right (each a “Right” and collectively, the “Rights”) for each outstanding share of common stock of the Company. The dividend was payable to stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 30, 2015 and entitles the registered holder to purchase from the Company one one-thousandth of a fully paid non-assessable share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock of the Company at a price of $63.96 per one-thousandth share (the “Purchase Price”). The Rights will generally become exercisable upon the earlier to occur of (i) 10 business days following a public announcement that a person or group of affiliated or associated persons has become an Acquiring Person (as defined below) or (ii) 10 business days (or such later date as may be determined by action of the Board prior to such time as any person or group of affiliated or associated persons becomes an Acquiring Person) following the commencement of, or announcement of an intention to make, a tender offer or exchange offer the consummation of which would result in the beneficial ownership by a person or group of 15% or more of the outstanding common stock of the Company. Except in certain situations, a person or group of affiliated or associated persons becomes an “Acquiring Person” upon acquiring beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company.

 

 

In general, in the event a person becomes an Acquiring Person, then each Right not owned by such Acquiring Person will entitle its holder to purchase from the Company, at the Right’s then current exercise price, in lieu of shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, common stock of the Company with a market value of twice the Purchase Price. In addition, if after any person has become an Acquiring Person, (a) the Company is acquired in a merger or other business combination, or (b) 50% or more of the Company’s assets, or assets accounting for 50% or more of its earning power, are sold, leased, exchanged or otherwise transferred (in one or more transactions), proper provision shall be made so that each holder of a Right (other than the Acquiring Person, its affiliates and associates and certain transferees thereof, whose Rights became void) shall thereafter have the right to purchase from the acquiring corporation, for the Purchase Price, that number of shares of common stock of the acquiring corporation which at the time of such transaction would have a market value of twice the Purchase Price.

 

The Company will be entitled to redeem the Rights at $0.001 per Right at any time prior to the time an Acquiring Person becomes such. The terms of the Rights are set forth in the Rights Agreement, which is summarized in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated November 13, 2015. The rights plan was originally set to expire on November 12, 2018; however, on November 5, 2018 our Board approved an Amended and Restated Rights Agreement pursuant to which the expiration date was extended to November 5, 2021, and again on November 2, 2021, the Company adopted a Second Amended and Restated Rights Agreement pursuant to which the expiration date was extended to November 1, 2024. On October 22, 2024, the Company adopted a Third Amended and Restated Rights Agreement pursuant to which the expiration date was extended to October 22, 2027, unless the rights are earlier redeemed or exchanged by the Company.

 

  (c)Share-Based Payments

 

The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense for grants of stock option awards, restricted stock units and restricted stock under the Company’s Incentive Plan to employees, nonemployees and nonemployee members of the Company’s Board based on the grant-date fair value of those awards. The grant-date fair value of an award is generally recognized as compensation expense over the award’s requisite service period. In addition, the Company has granted performance-based stock option awards and restricted stock units, which vest based upon the Company satisfying certain performance conditions. Potential compensation cost, measured on the grant date, related to these performance options will be recognized only if, and when, the Company estimates that these options or units will vest, which is based on whether the Company considers the performance conditions to be probable of attainment. The Company’s estimates of the number of performance-based options or units that will vest will be revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods.

 

The Company uses the Black-Scholes model to compute the estimated fair value of stock option awards. Using this model, fair value is calculated based on assumptions with respect to (i) expected volatility of the Company’s common stock price, (ii) the periods of time over which employees and members of the board of directors are expected to hold their options prior to exercise (expected term), (iii) expected dividend yield on the common stock, and (iv) risk-free interest rates. Stock-based compensation expense also includes an estimate, which is made at the time of grant, of the number of awards that are expected to be forfeited. This estimate is revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. Stock-based compensation cost for stock option and restricted stock awards that has been expensed in the statements of operations amounted to approximately $58,000 and $65,000, for the three months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025, respectively, and approximately $124,000 and $136,000, for the six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025, respectively. The expense is allocated as follows:

 

   2026   2025   2026   2025 
   Three Months Ended June 30,   Six Months Ended June 30, 
   2026   2025   2026   2025 
                 
Research and development  $36,015   $31,016   $51,777   $66,989 
General and administrative   22,130    34,189    71,766    69,218 
                     
Total  $58,145   $65,205   $123,543   $136,207 

 

The Company issued 58,073 and 8,820 stock options during each of the three months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025, respectively, and 97,073 and 25,191 stock options during each of the six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025. The Company did not issue any restricted stock awards during the three or six months ended June 30, 2026 or 2025.

 

 

Key assumptions used in the determination of the fair value of stock options granted are as follows:

 

Expected Term: The expected term represents the period that the stock-based awards are expected to be outstanding. The expected term was estimated using the simplified method in accordance with the provisions of Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) No. 107, Share-Based Payment, for awards with stated or implied service periods. The simplified method defines the expected term as the average of the contractual term and the vesting period of the stock option. For awards with performance conditions, and that have the contractual term to satisfy the performance condition, the contractual term was used.

 

Risk-Free Interest Rate: The risk-free interest rate used was based on the implied yield currently available on U.S. Treasury issues with an equivalent remaining term.

 

Expected Dividend: The expected dividend assumption is based on management’s current expectation about the Company’s anticipated dividend policy. The Company does not anticipate declaring dividends in the foreseeable future.

 

Expected Volatility: The volatility factor is based solely on the Company’s trading history.

 

For options granted during the six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025, the Company calculated the fair value of each option grant on the respective dates of grant using the following weighted average assumptions:

 

   2026   2025 
Expected term   5.83 years   5.73 years
Risk-free interest rate   4.04%   4.30%
Expected dividend yield        
Expected volatility   90.87%   94.19%

 

FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 718, Stock Compensation, requires the Company to recognize compensation expense for the portion of options that are expected to vest. Therefore, the Company applied estimated forfeiture rates that were derived from historical employee termination behavior. If the actual number of forfeitures differs from those estimated by management, additional adjustments to compensation expense may be required in future periods.

 

As of June 30, 2026, there was approximately $687,000 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested share-based compensation arrangements granted under the Company’s stock plan, of which $628,000 relates to unvested stock options and $59,000 relates to unvested restricted stock units. Share-based compensation related to options is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.3 years. The cost will be adjusted for subsequent changes in estimated forfeitures. The weighted average fair value of stock options granted during the six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025 was approximately $3.39 and $3.32 per share, respectively.

 

(d)Stock Option Plan

 

In April 2014, the Board of Directors adopted the 2014 Stock and Incentive Plan (“2014 Plan”) subject to shareholder approval which was received in June 2014. The 2014 Plan provides for the granting of nonqualified and incentive stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units, restricted stock and dividend equivalents. An aggregate of 58,823 shares were authorized for issuance under the 2014 Plan. Additionally, 15,994 remaining authorized shares under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan were issuable under the 2014 Plan at the time of the 2014 Plan adoption. Upon receiving shareholder approval in June 2016, the 2014 Plan was amended and restated to increase the authorized number of shares of common stock of the Company issuable under all awards granted under the 2014 Plan from 74,817 to 145,405. Additionally, upon receiving shareholder approval in June 2018, the 2014 Plan was further amended and restated to increase the authorized number of shares of common stock of the Company issuable under all awards granted under the 2014 Plan from 145,405 to 189,522. Upon receiving shareholder approval in June 2020, the 2014 Plan was further amended and restated to increase the authorized number of shares of common stock of the Company issuable under all awards granted under the 2014 Plan from 189,522 to 336,582. In June 2024, the 2014 Plan was further amended and restated to increase the authorized number of shares of common stock of the Company issuable under all awards granted from 336,582 to 600,000. In June 2026, the 2014 Plan was further amended and restated to increase the authorized number of shares of common stock of the Company issuable under all awards granted from 600,000 to 1,000,000. The Board, on an option-by-option basis, determines the number of shares, exercise price, term, and vesting period for options granted. Options granted generally have a ten-year contractual life. The Company issues shares of common stock upon the exercise of options with the source of those shares of common stock being either newly issued shares or shares held in treasury. An aggregate of 1,000,000 shares of common stock are authorized for issuance under the 2014 Plan, with 466,200 shares remaining available for grant as of June 30, 2026.

 

 

A summary of stock option activity is as follows:

 

   Outstanding stock options 
   Number of shares   Weighted average exercise price 
Balance at December 31, 2024   335,258   $23.59 
Options granted   100,994    4.22 
Options exercised   -    - 
Options forfeited   (8,327)   4.62 
Options cancelled   (10,616)   48.83 
Balance at December 31, 2025   417,309    18.64 
Options granted   97,073    4.66 
Options exercised   (1,325)   5.27 
Options forfeited   (22,053)   116.04 
Options cancelled   (5,966)   3.66 
Balance at June 30, 2026   485,038    11.64 
           
Options exercisable at June 30, 2026   279,159    16.89 

 

The following table summarizes information about stock options outstanding and exercisable:

 

As of June 30, 2026
Options outstanding  Options exercisable 
Number outstanding  Weighted average remaining contractual life (Years)   Weighted average exercise price   Aggregate intrinsic value   Number exercisable   Weighted average remaining contractual life (Years)   Weighted average exercise price   Aggregate intrinsic value 
                                    
485,038   7.01   $11.64   $1,588    279,159    5.20   $16.89   $- 

 

As of June 30, 2025
Options outstanding  Options exercisable
Number outstanding  Weighted average remaining contractual life (Years)   Weighted average exercise price   Aggregate intrinsic value   Number exercisable  Weighted average remaining contractual life (Years)   Weighted average exercise price   Aggregate intrinsic value 
                                  
354,908   6.60   $21.26   $-   256,738   5.59   $27.57   $- 

 

The intrinsic value for stock options is defined as the difference between the current market value and the exercise price.

 

 

(e)Restricted Stock Units

 

A summary of restricted stock unit activity is as follows:

 

   Number of Unvested Restricted Stock Units 
     
Balance at December 31, 2025   18,137 
Granted   - 
Vested   (1,209)
Cancelled   - 
Balance at June 30, 2026   16,928 

 

(f)Common Stock Warrants

 

In an offering in February 2020, the Company issued 296,593 common stock warrants to shareholders which allowed the shareholder the option to purchase shares of common stock. However, because these warrants did not provide the warrant holder the option to put the warrant back to the Company, the warrants were classified as equity. As of March 31, 2025, the warrants that had been outstanding from the offering done in February 2020 to purchase an equal number of shares of common stock had expired. No common stock warrants were exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2025.