What happened Shares of alcohol manufacturer Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ: PEIX) were up 13.5% at 11 a.m. Friday. There does not appear to be any news specific to the company behind the rise. So what But there is reason to favor Pacific Ethanol as a coronavirus play since it is evolving past its historical role as a provider of ethanol as an additive to gasoline (to fight smog and diminish reliance on imported oil). It is now more focused on producing ethanol that can be used to manufacture disinfectants and hand sanitizer in the fight against COVID-19. Image source: Getty Images. Now what The Wall Street Journal reports today that the U.S. just logged its highest daily number of new coronavirus infections: 187,833 cases on Thursday, up 6% from a week ago. Moreover, more than 80,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with the disease (up more than 33% from 10 days ago), and coronavirus deaths have passed 250,000. Despite all the positive news we've seen on coronavirus vaccines these past two weeks, we're still months (probably many months) away from wide distribution of the vaccines. In the meantime, people still need to disinfect frequently to minimize the risk of infection. 10 stocks we like better than Pacific EthanolWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Pacific Ethanol wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of October 20, 2020 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source