As disclosed in Note 13, on October 6, 2017, the Company issued restricted stock awards totaling 3,900,000 shares of its common stock to 16 employees and awarded nonqualified stock options to purchase an aggregate of 360,000 shares of its common stock at a strike price $1.98 per share to two employees. Shares of restricted stock have the same dividend and voting rights as common stock while options do not. All awards are issued at fair value of the underlying shares at the grant date.

During the nine months ended December 31, 2017, stock options covering a total of 360,000 shares of common stock were granted. No options were granted for the nine months ended December 31, 2016. Total compensation expense related to options granted was $51 for the nine months ended December 31, 2017 and $0 for the nine months ended December 31, 2016. As of December 31, 2017, there was total remaining compensation expense of $596 related to stock options, which will be recorded over a weighted average period of approximately 2.8 years.

During the nine months ended December 31, 2017 a total of 3,900,000 restricted shares were awarded. During the nine months ended December 31, 2016 no restricted shares were awarded. The compensation expense related to restricted stock awards was $741 during the nine months ended December 31, 2017 and $0 during the nine months ended December 31, 2016. As of December 31, 2017, there was $7,447 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested shares of restricted stock granted. The cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.5 years.

Stock-based compensation expense for the cost of the awards granted is based on the grant-date fair value. For stock option awards, the fair value is estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. This model requires the input of highly subjective assumptions, changes to which can materially affect the fair value estimate. Additionally, there may be other factors that would otherwise have a significant effect on the value of employee   stock   options granted but are not considered by the model. Accordingly, while management believes that the Black-Scholes option-pricing model provides a reasonable estimate of fair value, the model does not necessarily provide the best single measure of fair value for the Company's employee stock options.

The following is a summary of stock option activity for the nine months ended December 31, 2017: 

The table below summarizes the activity for the Company's restricted stock outstanding during the nine months ended December 31, 2017: