Note 5. Equity Awards and Warrants

Liability-classified equity instruments

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During April and May 2023, the Company sold Placement Agent Notes through a placement agent. See Note 4, Convertible Instruments and Accrued Interest – Placement Agent Notes. The Company agreed to issue warrants to the placement agent as part of the issuance costs with an exercise price that was not determined until the final closing date. As the exercise price of the warrants was to be fixed based on the final terms of the offering, the Company accounted for the warrants as a liability-classified warrant beginning on the initial closing date until the final closing date. The value of the warrants at May 31, 2023, was recorded as a derivative liability on the balance sheet, and the change in the fair value of the warrants was recorded as a gain or loss on derivatives. On June 23, 2023, the final closing of the Placement Agent Notes occurred, and the fair value of the warrants became equity classified.

On July 31, 2023, the Placement Agent Notes were converted into units that had similar terms to units being offered in a private placement of shares and warrants through a placement agent. See Private placement of common stock and warrants through placement agent below. As the unit price was not determinable until the final closing date of the subsequent private placement, the units related to the conversion of the Placement Agent Notes were recorded as a liability and at fair value. On October 23, 2023, the private placement was concluded, which finalized the unit purchase price at $0.16, and the fair value of the units became equity-classified.

During November 2023, in connection with the issuance of the Short-term Notes as described in Note 4, Convertible Instruments and Accrued Interest – Short-term Notes, the Company agreed to issue warrants to the placement agent as part of the issuance costs, with the ultimate number of warrants and exercise price to be determined as of the final closing date of a private placement of common stock and warrants through a placement agent that commenced in December 2023. As the number of warrants and the exercise price of the warrants will be variable until the final closing date, the Company accounted for the warrants as a liability-classified warrant beginning on the initial closing date until the final closing date. The value of the warrants was recorded as a derivative liability on the balance sheet, and the change in the fair value of the warrants is recorded as a gain or loss on derivatives.

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

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

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.

The table below presents a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances for liabilities measured at fair value as of May 31, 2023, and November 30, 2023:

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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.

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Equity Incentive Plan (“EIP”)

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As of November 30, 2023, the Company had one active stock-based equity plan, the CytoDyn Inc. Amended and Restated 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (the “EIP”). As of November 30, 2023 and May 31, 2023, the EIP covered a total of 56.3 million shares of common stock. The Board also made a determination to waive the “evergreen provision” that would have automatically increased the number of shares of common stock subject to the EIP by an amount equal to 1%

of the total outstanding shares on June 1, 2023. The EIP provides for awards of stock options to purchase shares of common stock, restricted and unrestricted shares of common stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), and performance share units (“PSUs”). 

The Company recognizes the compensation cost of employee and director services received in exchange for equity awards based on the grant date estimated fair value of the awards. The Company estimates the fair value of RSUs and PSUs using the value of the Company’s stock on the date of grant. Share-based compensation cost is recognized over the period during which the employee or director is required to provide service in exchange for the award and, as forfeitures occur, the associated compensation cost recognized to date is reversed. For awards with performance-based payout conditions, the Company recognizes compensation cost based on the probability of achieving the performance conditions, with changes in expectations recognized as an adjustment to earnings in the period of change. Any recognized compensation cost is reversed if the conditions ultimately are not met.

Stock-based compensation for the three months ended November 30, 2023 and 2022 was $0.6 million and $1.8 million, respectively, and for the six months ended November 30, 2023 and 2022 was $1.1 million and $3.1 million, respectively. Stock-based compensation is recorded in general and administrative costs.

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Stock options

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Stock option activity is presented in the table below:

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During the six months ended November 30, 2023 and 2022, stock options for approximately 0.5 million shares and 12.4 million shares, respectively, were granted. The current year options vest when performance conditions are completed. Of the prior year options, 10.9 million options vest over four years, 1.1 million vested over one year, and 0.4 million vested immediately. The Company records compensation expense based on the Black-Scholes fair value per share of the awards on the grant date. The weighted average fair value per share was $0.23 and $0.34 for the six months ended November 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

RSUs and PSUs

The EIP provides for equity instruments, such as RSUs and PSUs, which grant the right to receive a specified number of shares over a specified period of time. RSUs and PSUs are service-based awards that vest according to the terms of the grant. PSUs have performance-based payout conditions.

The following table summarizes the Company’s RSU and PSU activity:

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Issuance of shares to consultants and employees

The Board has approved the issuance under the EIP of shares of common stock to consultants as payment for services provided. During the six months ended November 30, 2023 and 2022, a total of 1,091,865 and 510,872 shares of common stock, respectively, were issued pursuant to the respective award agreements with the consultants.

In order to preserve cash resources, the Board has approved the issuance under the EIP of shares of common stock as severance payments to former employees. During the six months ended November 30, 2023 and 2022 a total of 153,027 and 460,095 shares of common stock, respectively, were issued as severance.

Private placement of common stock and warrants through placement agent

In July 2023, the Company commenced a private placement of units consisting of common stock and warrants to accredited investors through a placement agent. Each unit sold included a fixed combination of one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of common stock. The purchase price per unit was $0.16, equal to 90% of the intraday VWAP of the common stock as of the last closing on September 27, 2023. From July through September 2023, the Company sold a total of approximately 21.5 million units for a total of approximately $3.0 million of proceeds, net of issuance costs. The Company classified the securities issued in the private placement as a liability until the final close, when it was reclassified as equity. As part of the offering, the Company issued approximately 21.5 million warrants to investors, with each such warrant having a five-year term and an exercise price of $0.50 per share. The warrants were immediately exercisable. In connection with the above, the Company paid the placement agent a total cash fee of approximately $0.4 million, equal to 12% of the gross proceeds of the offering, as well as a one-time fee for expenses of $5,000, and issued to the placement agent and its designees, a total of approximately 3.2 million warrants with an exercise price of $0.16 per share and a ten-year term, representing 15% of the total number of shares of common stock sold in the offering.

Based on contractual payment terms, the private placement transactions above are considered convertible debt instruments prior to final settlement, and the option to enter a final closing that would lower the purchase price is considered a share-settled redemption feature. Therefore, the approximately $0.9 million of cash and non-cash issuance costs associated with such issuances were capitalized and subsequently recognized through the statement of operations as interest expense on the final closing date. As the VWAP of the final closing was lower than the VWAP on the initial closing, the share-settled redemption feature was triggered, and the Company recorded a $2.4 non-cash million loss on note extinguishment.

In addition, approximately $2.3 million principal and interest of the Placement Agent Notes were converted into approximately 14.3 million units with the same terms as described above except for a warrant exercise price of $0.306. See Note 4, Convertible Instruments and Accrued Interest – Placement Agent Notes, and Liability-classified equity instruments above for additional information.

Warrants

Warrant activity is presented in the table below:

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Warrant exercises

During the six months ended November 30, 2023, the Company issued approximately 3.0 million shares of common stock in connection with the exercise of an equal number of warrants. The stated exercise price was $0.10 per share, which resulted in aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $0.3 million.