Stock-Based Compensation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2026

8. Stock-Based Compensation

Employee Equity Plans

The NextCure, Inc. 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2015 Plan”) was adopted in December 2015 and provides for the grant of awards of stock options, restricted stock awards, unrestricted stock awards and restricted stock units to employees, consultants, and directors of the Company.

The NextCure, Inc. 2019 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2019 Plan”) became effective on May 8, 2019, the date on which the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed in connection with the Company’s initial public offering was declared effective (the “Effective Date”). The Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) determined not to make additional awards under the 2015 Plan following the effectiveness of the 2019 Plan. The 2019 Plan provides for the grant of awards of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, deferred stock units, unrestricted stock, dividend equivalent rights, other equity-based awards and cash bonus awards to the Company’s officers, employees and non-employee directors as well as other key persons (including consultants).

The number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the 2019 Plan is 241,666 plus the number of shares of stock related to awards outstanding under the 2015 Plan that subsequently terminate by expiration or forfeiture, cancellation or otherwise without the issuance of such shares. The number of shares reserved for issuance under the 2019 Plan automatically increase each January 1st during the term of the 2019 Plan by 4% of the number of shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding on December 31st of the preceding calendar year or such lesser number of shares determined by the Board.

As of March 31, 2026, 79,424 shares were reserved for future grant under the 2019 Plan. Stock options granted under the 2019 Plan (together, the “Plans”) to employees generally vest over four years and expire after ten years. A summary of stock option activity for awards under the Plans is presented below:


	Options Outstanding and Exercisable
				Weighted
		Weighted		Average	Aggregate
		Average		Remaining	Intrinsic
	Number of	Exercise		Contractual	Value⁽¹⁾
	Shares	Price		Life (Years)	(in thousands)
Outstanding as of December 31, 2025	848,966	$	73.76	6.5	$	—
Granted	151,480	$	10.85	—		—
Exercised	(2,488)	$	5.76	—		—
Forfeitures	(2,978)	$	11.56	—		—
Outstanding as of March 31, 2026	994,980	$	64.54	6.8		179
Exercisable as of March 31, 2026	681,158	$	88.89	5.8	$	50

(1)	The aggregate intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between the exercise price of the underlying options and the estimated fair value of the common stock for the options that were in the money at December 31, 2025 and March 31, 2026.

The weighted average grant date fair value of stock options granted to employees for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was $8.32 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. 2,488 stock options were exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2026. As of March 31, 2026, there was $2.5 million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested options under the Plans that will be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.9 years.

The aggregate grant date fair value of stock options vested during the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025 was approximately $0.5 million and $3.0 million, respectively.

Stock-based compensation expense was classified on the statements of operations as follows for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025:


		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
(in thousands)		2026			2025
Research and development		$	124		$	579
General and administrative			220			784
Total stock-based compensation expense		$	344		$	1,363

The fair value of each option award is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model using the assumptions in the following table for options issued during the period indicated:


		Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2026			2025
Expected term		6.1	years		6.1	years
Expected volatility		90.8	%		90.5	%
Risk free interest rate		3.9	%		4.4	%
Expected dividend yield		—	%		—	%

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

The NextCure, Inc. 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”) was approved in May 2019 and provides for eligible employees of the Company to purchase shares of Company stock at a discounted price. As of March 31, 2026, 27,479 shares of common stock had been issued pursuant to the ESPP and 85,002 shares were reserved for future issuance thereunder.

NextCure, Inc. 10-Q