Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Equity Awards

v3.22.2.2
Equity Awards
3 Months Ended
Aug. 31, 2022
Equity Awards  
Equity Awards

Note 6. Equity Awards

Approval of Increase in Authorized Common Stock

On August 31, 2022, the stockholders’ of the Company, at a special stockholders’ meeting approved a proposal to increase the total number of authorized shares of common stock from 1.0 billion shares to 1.35 billion shares.

From June 24, 2022 through August 31, 2022, the Company had insufficient authorized common stock to reserve for the shares underlying the Surety Backstop warrants and warrants issued to a placement agent in connection with the June 2022 offering (Refer to Private Placement of Warrants under Surety Bond Backstop Agreement and Private Placement of Common Stock and Warrants through Placement Agent sections below.) On August 31, 2022, the stockholders of the Company approved an increase to the Company’s authorized common stock, after which sufficient shares were authorized, including those to cover the shares underlying the warrants. Given that the Company did not have a sufficient number of authorized shares for the two instruments at the time they were issued, the Company evaluated, and accounted for such warrants between June and August, as liability classified warrants consistent with ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging.

In accordance with the prescribed accounting guidance, the Company measured fair value of liability classified warrants using fair value hierarchy which include:

Level 1. Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2.

Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets with insufficient volume or infrequent transactions (less active markets), or model-derived valuations in which all significant inputs are observable or can be derived principally from or corroborated with observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities. Level 2 inputs also include non-binding market consensus prices that can be corroborated with observable market data, as well as quoted prices that were adjusted for security-specific restrictions.

Level 3.

Unobservable inputs to the valuation methodology are significant to the measurement of the fair value of assets or liabilities. These Level 3 inputs also include non-binding market consensus prices or non-binding broker quotes that the Company was unable to corroborate with observable market data.

As of August 31, 2022, in accordance with ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging, the Company reclassified the warrants to equity due to having a sufficient number of authorized shares upon receiving approval of an increase to the Company’s authorized common stock. The Company recorded a loss on derivatives of approximately $8.6 million in the quarter ended August 31, 2022 due to change in fair market value of the liability classified warrants between June 24 and August 31, 2022. The table below presents a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances for liabilities measured at fair value during the three months ended August 31, 2022, and the year ended May 31, 2022:

(in thousands)

    

Liability Classified Warrants

Balance at May 31, 2022

$

Classified as liability due to lack of shares availability at issuance

 

14,522

Classified as equity upon increase in availability

 

(23,123)

Loss on derivative due to change in fair market value

 

8,601

Balance at August 31, 2022

$

The Company used a Black Scholes valuation model to estimate the value of the liability classified warrants using assumptions presented in the table below. The Black Scholes valuation model was used because management believes it reflects all the assumptions that market participants would likely consider in negotiating the transfer of the warrant. The Company’s derivative liability is classified within Level 3.

    

    

Initial Fair Market Value At Issuance

    

Fair Market Value at August 31, 2022

Backstop

Backstop

Placement

Backstop

Backstop

Placement

Warrant #1

Warrant #2

Agent Warrants

Warrant #1

Warrant #2

Agent Warrants

Fair value of underlying stock

$ 0.44

$ 0.42

$ 0.44

$ 0.52

$ 0.52

$ 0.52

Risk free rate

3.17%

3.06%

3.13%

3.34%

3.31%

3.16%

Expected term (in years)

4.65

5.00

10.00

4.46

4.88

9.82

Stock price volatility

110.20%

109.49%

95.99%

117.29%

113.59%

95.87%

Expected dividend yield

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

Equity Incentive Plan

As of August 31, 2022, the Company had one active stock-based equity plan, the CytoDyn Inc. Amended and Restated 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2012 Plan”), and one stock-based equity plan that is no longer active, but under which certain prior awards remain outstanding. As of May 31, 2022, the 2012 Plan covered a total of 34.3 million shares of common stock. As of May 31, 2022, the Board had released from reservation under the 2012 Plan a total of 22.0 million shares of common stock to permit their use for general purposes, leaving approximately 3.9 million shares available for future stock-based awards under the 2012 Plan. The Board also made a determination on May 31, 2022, to waive the “evergreen provision” that would have automatically increased the number of shares of common stock subject to the 2012 Plan by an amount equal to 1% of the total outstanding shares on that date. Following approval by the stockholders of the 350.0 million increase in authorized shares of common stock on August 31, 2022, the 22.0 million shares were restored for issuance under the 2012 Plan.

Stock Options, Equity Awards, Warrants, and Stock-Based Compensation

Stock option and warrants activity is presented in the table below:

Weighted 

average

Weighted

remaining

Aggregate

Number of

average

contractual

intrinsic

(in thousands, except per share data)

    

shares

    

exercise price

    

life in years

    

value

Options and warrants outstanding at May 31, 2022

 

90,705

$

0.77

 

4.06

$

352

Granted

 

104,104

$

0.25

 

 

Exercised

 

(863)

$

0.49

 

 

Forfeited, expired, and cancelled

 

(484)

$

1.57

 

 

Options and warrants outstanding at August 31, 2022

 

193,462

$

0.48

 

4.36

$

36,758

Options and warrants outstanding and exercisable at August 31, 2022

 

187,896

$

0.45

 

4.24

$

36,717

As of August 31, 2022, approximately 11.9 million outstanding stock options were vested, approximately 5.3 million outstanding stock options were unvested, and all outstanding warrants were exercisable.

In the three months ended August 31, 2022 and 2021, stock-based compensation expense, inclusive of stock issued for compensation, presented in general and administrative expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations, totaled approximately $1.3 million and $2.6 million, respectively. For the three months ended August 31, 2022, approximately $5.3 million of stock-based compensation expense related to warrants issued under the Backstop Agreement, as amended, was recorded as a finance charge in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations; none in the three-month period ended August 31, 2021. Refer to Private Placement of Warrants under Surety Bond Backstop Agreement below for further information.

During the three months ended August 31, 2022, the Company granted stock options covering a total of approximately 0.2 million shares of common stock to employees with exercise prices ranging from $0.41 to $0.67 per share. The stock options vest over four years, have a ten-year term, and a grant date fair value between $0.33 and $0.54 per share. During the same period in the prior year, the Company also issued approximately 0.2 million shares of common stock in connection with the time-based vesting of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) for which it recognized $0.1 million in stock-based compensation expense; there were no issuances of shares of common stock in connection with the exercise of stock options or in connection with the vesting of performance stock units (“PSUs”) in the three months ended August 31, 2022.

Issuance of Shares to Former and Current Executives

During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2022, the employment of our CEO and General Counsel was terminated. Under the terms of their respective employment agreements, the Company was obligated to pay severance equal to 18 months of salary to our former CEO and 12 months of salary to our former General Counsel. As permitted by the

employment agreements, in March 2022, the Board authorized the severance payments to our former CEO and the remaining severance payments to our former General Counsel to be made through the issuance of shares of common stock.

During the three months ended August 31, 2022, the Company issued to our former General Counsel a total of 79,391 shares of common stock to satisfy in full its obligation under the terms of the employment agreement. During the same period, consistent with the terms of our former CEO’s employment agreement, the Company also issued 88,983 shares of common stock in satisfaction of the severance amounts due for the months of June, July, and August 2022. The numbers of shares issued were based on the closing price of the common stock on the applicable date.

In order to preserve cash resources, in April 2022, the Board of Directors approved the issuance to then executive officers of shares of common stock with a value equal to 25 percent of salary in lieu of cash, net of payroll deductions and withholding taxes. During the three months ended August 31, 2022, a total of 235,676 shares of common stock were issued pursuant to this cash preservation program. The number of shares issued was based on the closing price of the common stock on each payroll date.

Private Placement of Warrants under Surety Bond Backstop Agreement

On February 14, 2022, the Company entered into the Backstop Agreement with an accredited investor in his individual capacity and as trustee of a revocable trust, as well as certain other related parties (collectively, the “Indemnitors”). Pursuant to the Backstop Agreement, the Indemnitors agreed to assist the Company in obtaining a surety bond (the “Surety Bond”) for posting in connection with the Company’s ongoing litigation with Amarex Clinical Research, LLC ("Amarex”) by, among other things, agreeing to indemnify the issuer of the Surety Bond (the “Surety”) with respect to the Company’s obligations under the Surety Bond through August 13, 2022. As consideration for the Indemnitors’ agreement to indemnify the Surety, the Company agreed (i) to issue to 4-Good Ventures LLC, an affiliate of the Indemnitors (“4-Good”), a warrant for the purchase of 15,000,000 shares of common stock as a backstop fee (the “Initial Warrant”), (ii) to issue to 4-Good a warrant for the purchase of an additional 15,000,000 shares, to be exercisable only if the Indemnitors were required to make any payment to the Surety (the “Make-Whole Warrant” and, together with the Initial Warrant, the “4-Good Warrants”), and (iii) if the Indemnitors are required to make a payment to the Surety, (A) within 90 days of such payment, to reimburse the Indemnitors for any amount paid to the Surety and (B) to pay to the Indemnitors an indemnification fee in an amount equal to 1.5 times the amount paid by the Indemnitors to the Surety. The payment obligations of the Company to the Indemnitors will bear interest at 10% per annum and are secured by substantially all of the patents held by the Company. The Company recognized a finance charge of approximately $6.6 million related to the warrant issuance for the year ended May 31, 2022.

Pursuant to an amendment to the Backstop Agreement executed on July 18, 2022 (the “Backstop Amendment”), among other matters: (i) the obligation of the Indemnitors to indemnify the Surety was extended from August 13, 2022 to November 15, 2022; (ii) each of the 4-Good Warrants has a five-year term from the date of issuance and an exercise price of $0.20 per share (reduced from $0.30 per share); (iii) the Make-Whole Warrant was amended to be fully exercisable immediately; (iv) the Indemnitors and 4-Good agreed to waive the requirement to reserve for issuance the shares subject to the Make-Whole Warrant pending stockholder approval of an increase in the authorized shares of common stock; and (v) upon the exercise in full of the 4-Good Warrants, the Company agreed to take reasonable steps to cause the Indemnitors to be released from their indemnity obligations by an amount equal to the exercise proceeds.

Private Placement of Common Stock and Warrants through Placement Agent

In April 2022, the Company initiated a private placement of common stock and warrants, completed in June 2022, to accredited investors through a placement agent. Between April and June 2022, the Company sold a total of approximately 85.4 million shares of common stock for a total of approximately $18.9 million of proceeds, net of issuance costs. Of these, approximately $7.7 million of proceeds, net of issuance costs, relating to approximately 34.6 million shares were remitted to the Company by May 31, 2022. Each unit sold included a fixed combination of one share of common stock and three-quarters of one warrant to purchase one share of common stock for a purchase price of $0.255 per unit. The Company issued approximately 64.0 million warrants to investors with each such warrant having a five-year term and an exercise price of 120% of the final unit price, or $0.306 per share, and are immediately exercisable. The Company paid the placement agent a total cash fee of approximately $2.8 million, equal to 13% of the gross proceeds of the offering, as well as a one-time fee for expenses of $50,000, and issued a total of approximately

19.4 million warrants with an exercise price of $0.255 per share and a ten-year term, representing 13% of the total number of shares, including shares subject to warrants sold in the offering, to the placement agent and its designees. The issuance of the warrants to the placement agent was subject to the approval by the Company’s stockholders of an increase in authorized shares of common stock, which was approved on August 31, 2022.

Down Round Provision Issuance and Modification to Previous Private Offerings

During the three months ended August 31, 2022, common stock and warrants previously issued between February and April 2022 to accredited investors directly by the Company in a private placement became subject to a down round provision under the original purchase agreements requiring the Company to reduce the purchase price of common stock from the original price of $0.40 to $0.255 per share, to increase the percentage of the warrant coverage from 50% to 75% based on the revised amount of total shares issued, and to reduce the exercise price of the warrants from the original price of $0.40 to $0.255, the terms in the latest round of financing conducted by the Company through the placement agent as discussed above. As a result, an approximate additional 4.6 million shares of common stock and 5.5 million warrants were issued. The incremental fair value of the warrants were measured using the Black-Scholes pricing model, resulting in an approximately $4.2 million charge to additional paid-in capital which was accounted for as a deemed dividend.

Warrant Exercises

During the three months ended August 31, 2022, the Company issued approximately 0.5 million shares of common stock in connection with the exercise of an equal number of warrants. The stated exercise prices ranged from $0.45 to $0.75 per share, which resulted in aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $0.3 million. Additionally, during the three months ended August 31, 2022, the Company issued approximately 0.2 million shares of common stock in connection with the cashless exercise of approximately 0.3 million warrants with stated exercise prices ranging from $0.40 to $0.50 per share.