Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (PEIX)

Pacific Ethanol, Inc. was one of the largest US producers of fuel-grade ethanol and a major marketer of renewable fuels. Based in Sacramento, California, it operated ethanol plants in California, Oregon, Idaho and the Midwest and sold co-products such as distillers grains, corn oil and carbon dioxide to agricultural and industrial buyers. Its West Coast plants were close to large fuel markets in California and the Pacific Northwest, which helped it sell ethanol to fuel blenders in those states.

The company became public in 2005 through a reverse merger and traded on Nasdaq under the symbol PEIX. The ethanol boom and bust of the late 2000s was hard on the business: several plant subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and the company later rebuilt its balance sheet. In 2015 it bought Aventine Renewable Energy, adding large Illinois and Nebraska plants.

Weak fuel ethanol margins pushed management to shift toward higher-value products. The company expanded its output of specialty alcohols used in hand sanitizers, beverages, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, a move that accelerated during the 2020 pandemic, along with essential ingredients for food and feed. Specialty alcohol sales carried higher prices and margins than fuel ethanol, and they helped the company offset weak fuel demand during 2020.

To mark that shift, Pacific Ethanol became Alto Ingredients, Inc. on January 12, 2021. The common stock began trading under the new ticker ALTO on February 1, 2021, ending the PEIX symbol. Alto Ingredients continues to produce specialty alcohols, renewable fuels and related ingredients. The renamed company kept the same management, assets and share count, so existing PEIX holders simply saw their positions appear under the new symbol.