The Company has certain stock option plans under which it awards incentive stock options (“ISOs”) and non-qualified stock options (“NQSOs”) to employees, officers, and outside directors.

On January 18, 2018, the Company granted 6,000 NQSOs from the Company’s 2003 Outside Directors Stock Plan (“2003 Plan”) to a new director elected by the Company’s Board of Directors (“Board”) to fill a vacancy on the Board. The options granted were for a contractual term of ten years with a vesting period of six months. The exercise price of the options was $4.05 per share, which was equal to our closing stock price the day preceding the grant date, pursuant to the 2003 Plan.

On July 26, 2018, the Company granted an aggregate of 12,000 NQSOs from the Company’s 2003 Plan to five of the six re-elected directors at the Annual Meeting. Dr. Louis F. Centofanti (a Board member) was not eligible to receive options under the 2003 Plan as an employee of the Company, pursuant to the 2003 Plan. The NQSOs granted were for a contractual term of ten years with a vesting period of six months. The exercise price of the NQSO was $4.30 per share, which was equal to our closing stock price the day preceding the grant date, pursuant to the 2003 Plan.

On January 13, 2017, the Company granted 6,000 NQSOs from the Company’s 2003 Plan to a new director elected by the Company’s Board to fill a vacancy on the Board. The options granted were for a contractual term of ten years with a vesting period of six months. The exercise price of the options was $3.79 per share, which was equal to our closing stock price the day preceding the grant date, pursuant to the 2003 Plan.

On July 27, 2017, the Company granted an aggregate of 12,000 NQSOs from the Company’s 2003 Plan to five of the six re-elected directors at the Annual Meeting. Dr. Louis F. Centofanti (a Board member) was not eligible to receive options under the 2003 Plan as an employee of the Company, pursuant to the 2003 Plan. The NQSOs granted were for a contractual term of ten years with a vesting period of six months. The exercise price of the NQSO was $3.55 per share, which was equal to our closing stock price the day preceding the grant date, pursuant to the 2003 Plan.

On July 27, 2017, the Company granted an aggregate of 200,000 ISOs from the 2017 Stock Option Plan (“2017 Plan”) to the Company’s named executive officers. The ISOs granted were for a contractual term of six years with one-fifth yearly vesting over a five year period. The exercise price of the ISO was $3.65 per share, which was equal to the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant.

The Company estimates fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes valuation model. Assumptions used to estimate the fair value of stock options granted include the exercise price of the award, the expected term, the expected volatility of the Company’s stock over the option’s expected term, the risk-free interest rate over the option’s expected term, and the expected annual dividend yield. The fair value of the options granted as discussed above and the related assumptions used in the Black-Scholes option model used to value the options granted were as follows:

The following table summarizes stock-based compensation recognized for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 for our employee and director stock options.

At September 30, 2018, the Company has approximately $487,000 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested options, of which $55,000 is expected to be recognized in remaining 2018, $130,000 in 2019, $114,000 in 2020, $114,000 in 2021, with the remaining $74,000 in 2022.

The summary of the Company’s total Stock Option Plans as of September 30, 2018 and September 30, 2017, and changes during the periods then ended, are presented below. The Company’s Plans consist of the 2017 Stock Plan and the 2003 Plan:

During the nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Company issued a total of 46,630 shares of its Common Stock under the 2003 Plan to its outside directors as compensation for serving on our Board. The Company has recorded approximately $191,000 in compensation expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 (included in SG&A) in connection with the issuance of shares of its common stock to outside directors.

On May 1, 2018, Robert Ferguson exercised an option related to the Company’s 2017 Plan for the purchase of 10,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at $3.65 per share, resulting in total proceeds received by the Company in the amount of $36,500. Robert Ferguson is a consultant to the Company in connection with the Company’s Test Bed Initiative (“TBI”) at its Perma-Fix Northwest Richland, Inc. facility and is also an advisor to the Company’s Board of Directors. The option exercised by Robert Ferguson was granted to him on July 27, 2017 in connection with his consulting work for the TBI.