10.	SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY:

Common and Preferred Stock

The Company is authorized to issue 100 million shares of $0.01 par value common stock and five million shares of $0.01 par value preferred stock. Each share of the Company’s common stock entitles the holder to one vote on all matters to be voted upon by the shareholders. As of September 30, 2017, the Company had issued 48,466,087 shares of common stock of which 47,108,224 were outstanding and had issued 200,000 shares of preferred stock, all of which were outstanding.

Scientific Advisory Board and Employee Awards

During the first three quarters of 2017 and 2016, the Company granted a total of 5,590 and 27,967 shares, respectively, of fully vested common stock to employees and non-employee members of the Scientific Advisory Board for services performed in 2016 and 2015, respectively. The fair value of the shares issued was $165,000 and $1.1 million, respectively, for shares issued to employees and $300,000 for both quarters for shares issued to members of the Scientific Advisory Board, which amounts were accrued at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. In connection with the issuance of these grants, 605 and 8,106 shares, with fair values of $55,000 and $410,000, were withheld in satisfaction of employee tax withholding obligations in 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Excess Tax Benefits from Share-Based Payment Arrangements

On January 1, 2017, the Company adopted ASU No. 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Accounting, which includes provisions intended to simplify various aspects related to how share-based payments are accounted for and presented in the financial statements. Under the previous guidance, tax effects of deductions for employee share awards in excess of compensation cost ("windfalls") were recorded in equity in the period in which the deductions actually reduced income taxes payable and any unrecognized tax benefits were tracked separately off the balance sheet. Under the new guidance, excess tax benefits and deficiencies are recorded in the income statement in the period in which stock awards vest or are settled, and any excess tax benefits not previously recognized because the related tax deduction had not reduced current taxes payable, were recorded through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings at the beginning of the period of adoption.

The cumulative-effect adjustment on retained earnings resulting from the adoption of ASU 2016-09 was a net windfall tax benefit of $26.5 million as of January 1, 2017.

Dividends

During the three months ended September 30, 2017, the Company declared and paid cash dividends of $0.03 per common share, or $1.4 million, and during the nine months ended September 30, 2017, the Company declared and paid cash dividends of $0.09 per common share or $4.2 million, on the Company’s outstanding common stock.

On October 31, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a third quarter dividend of $0.03 per common share to be paid on December 29, 2017. All future dividends will be subject to the approval of the Company’s Board of Directors.