15. STOCK OPTIONS

Stock options

Options for the purchase of 3,649,508 shares of Common Stock have been issued under the 2008 Stock Option Plan. Options for the purchase of 199,450 shares under the 2008 Stock Option Plan were outstanding as of December 31, 2020. No shares are available for future issuance under the 2008 Stock Option Plan, which expired July 25, 2018.

The Compensation and Benefits Committee administered the Company’s stock option plan prior to its termination.

Stock option exercises

Stock options were exercised by the Company’s employees and directors during 2020, and, consequently, a total of 431,550 shares of Common Stock were issued for an aggregate payment to the Company of $922,512 to exercise such options.

Director, officer, and employee options

A summary of Director, officer, and employee options granted and outstanding under the 2008 Stock Option Plan is presented below:


	Years Ended December 31,
	2020			2019			2018
		Weighted			Weighted			Weighted
		Average			Average			Average
		Exercise			Exercise			Exercise
	Shares	Price		Shares	Price		Shares	Price
Outstanding at beginning of period	639,300	$	2.12	1,300,303	$	1.57	1,805,519	$	1.51
Granted	—	$	—	—	$	—	—	$	—
Exercised	(431,550)	$	(2.14)	—	$	—	—	$	—
Forfeited	(8,300)	$	(2.75)	(661,003)	$	(1.05)	(505,216)	$	(1.36)

Outstanding at end of period	199,450	$	2.05	639,300	$	2.12	1,300,303	$	1.57

Exercisable at end of period	199,450	$	2.05	639,300	$	2.12	1,300,303	$	1.57

No options were issued in 2020, 2019, or 2018 to employees or non-employee directors.

The following table summarizes information about Director, officer, and employee options outstanding under the stock option plan at December 31, 2020:


			Weighted Average
Exercise Prices		Shares Outstanding	Remaining Contractual Life	Shares Exercisable
$	1.05	82,500	5.99	82,500
$	2.75	116,950	5.70	116,950

Non-employee options

A summary of options outstanding and held by non-employees is as follows:


	Years Ended December 31,
	2020			2019			2018
		Weighted			Weighted			Weighted
		Average			Average			Average
		Exercise			Exercise			Exercise
	Shares	Price		Shares	Price		Shares	Price

Outstanding at beginning of period	—	$	—	57,500	$	0.81	57,500	$	0.81
Granted	—	$	—	—	$	—	—	$	—
Exercised	—	$	—	—	$	—	—	$	—
Forfeited	—	$	—	(57,500)	$	(0.81)	—	$	—

Outstanding at end of period	—	$	—	—	$	—	57,500	$	0.81

Exercisable at end of period	—	$	—	—	$	—	57,500	$	0.81

The Company recorded no stock-based compensation expense in 2018, 2019, or 2020. At December 31, 2020, there were 199,450 stock options with exercise prices lower than the closing market price. The intrinsic value of these options at December 31, 2020 was $1,733,856.

Options Pricing Models – Assumptions

The expected life is based on the Company’s historical experience with option exercise trends. The assumptions for expected volatility are based on a calculation of volatility over the five-years preceding the grant date. Risk-free interest rates are set using grant-date U.S. Treasury yield curves. In its calculations, the Company assumed no dividends. The Company elected a policy to account for forfeitures as they occur, rather than on an estimated basis.