Pacific Ethanol and VeraSun execs unload shares

A director of ethanol producer Pacific Ethanol (Nasdaq: PEIX) recently sold 59,008 shares of common stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

In two Form 4's filed with the SEC last Friday, William L. Jones reported he sold the shares Wednesday and Thursday for $14.35 to $15.04 apiece.

The senior vice president of sales and marketing of ethanol producer VeraSun Energy Corp. (NYSE: VSE) sold 28,130 shares of common stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

In a Form 4 filed Thursday with the SEC, William L. Honnef reported he sold the shares Tuesday and Wednesday for $16.75 to $17.20 apiece.

Insiders file Form 4s with the SEC to report transactions in their companies' shares.

Pacific Ethanol and VeraSun are both prominent corn-based ethanol producers. 

There have been mounting indications in recent weeks of concerns about the long term viability of the corn-based ethanol industry in the face of rising corn prices and increasing concern about the use of grains for food vs. fuel.

For instance, see the Cleantech Group's Ethanol sector slapped on bad VeraSun earnings, Cuba protests food as fuel to UN and Study: U.S. near corn-based ethanol tipping point.

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