NOTE 6 – STOCK OPTIONS AND WARRANTS

2022 Equity Incentive Plan

Effective December 28, 2022, the Company implemented the 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (“2022 Equity Plan”) as approved by the Company’s stockholders. The 2022 Equity Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board and has 2,750,000 shares available under this plan. The 2022 Equity Plan can issue various types of awards, as follows: stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, and cash or other stock-based awards. The 2022 Equity Plan is available to be issued to employees, directors, consultants, and other individuals who provide services to the Company. An incentive stock options (“ISOs”) can only be granted to employees and shall not exceed 10-years (5-years in the case of ISOs granted to any 10% shareholder).

Stock Options

As of January 31, 2024, the Company had 779,794 outstanding stock options to its directors and officers (collectively, “Employee Options”) and consultants (“Non-Employee Options”).

During the nine months ended January 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company granted 499,992 and 251,002 Employee Options, respectively. For the nine months ended January 31, 2024 and 2023, the director options vested immediately and the officers options vested 50% immediately and the remaining 50% upon the one-year anniversary of the grant date.

The fair value of the Employee Options at the date of grant was estimated using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model, based on the following weighted average assumptions:

For stock option grants issued during the nine months ended January 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company used a calculated volatility for each grant based on the Company’s historical stock values. The Company lacks adequate information about the exercise behavior now and has determined the expected term assumption under the simplified method provided for under ASC 718, which averages the contractual term of the Company’s stock options of ten years with the average vesting term of six months. The dividend yield assumption of zero is based upon the fact the Company has never paid cash dividends and presently has no intention of paying cash dividends. The risk-free interest rate used for each grant is equal to the U.S. Treasury rates in effect at the time of the grant for instruments with a similar expected life.

A summary of the Company’s stock option activity and related information for the nine months ended January 31, 2024, are shown below:

There were 127,500 unvested stock options during the nine months ended January 31, 2024.

The Company recorded $674,693 and $629,264 of stock-based compensation related to the issuance of Employee Options to certain officers and directors in exchange for services during the three months ended January 31 2024 and 2023, respectively, and $674,693 and $638,072 during the nine months ended January 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. At January 31, 2024, there remained $234,692 of unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested Employee Options granted to officers and directors.

The following table summarizes the outstanding stock options by exercise price at January 31, 2024:

The aggregate intrinsic value of outstanding options as of January 31, 2024 was $3,725. This represents options with exercise prices less than the $2.19 per share closing price of the Company’s common stock on January 31, 2024.

Warrants

Pursuant to the Private Placement (as defined below), the Company issued investors Warrants (as defined below) to purchase 8,750,000 shares of Common Stock, with an exercise price of $4.00 per share (subject to adjustment), for a period of five years from the date of issuance. For more information on the Private Placement, see “Note 11 – Preferred Stock”.

The Warrants were determined to be within the scope of ASC 480-10 as they are puttable to the Company at Holders’ election upon the occurrence of a Fundamental Transaction (as defined in the agreements). As such, the Company recorded the Warrants as a liability at fair value with subsequent changes in fair value recognized in earnings. The Company utilized the Black-Scholes-Merton Model to calculate the value of the Warrants issued during the nine months ended January 31, 2024. The fair value of the Warrants of approximately $14,127,000 was estimated at the date of issuance using the fair value of our common stock of $2.74 on the issuance date and was based on the following weighted average assumptions: dividend yield 0%; expected term of 5.0 years; equity volatility of 80.0%; and a risk-free interest rate of 3.37%.

Transaction costs incurred attributable to the issuance of the Warrants of approximately $0.9 million were immediately expensed in accordance with ASC 480 and is included in general and administrative expense in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

During the nine months ended January 31, 2024, the Company recorded a gain of approximately $2,633,000 related to the change in fair value of the warrant liability which is recorded in other income (expense) on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. The fair value of the Warrants of $11,494,000 was estimated at January 31, 2024, utilizing the Black-Scholes-Merton Model using the fair value of our common stock of $2.19 and the following weighted average assumptions: dividend yield 0%; remaining term of 4.27 years; equity volatility of 95.0%; and a risk-free interest rate of 3.96%.

A summary of the Company’s warrant activity and related information for the nine months ended January 31, 2024, are shown below:

The following table summarizes additional information concerning warrants outstanding and exercisable at January 31, 2024: