Yes, Rule 10b5-1 does establish rules that let officers and directors of publicly-traded companies decide whether to buy or sell the stock of their own companies.
As I documented with links to six different SEC Form 4s, the CEO, the CFO, the COO, and three Vice-Presidents of Pacific Ethanol all decided that they wanted to buy PEIX stock. All six of them, including this one from the President and CEO, were all dated April 22nd, and all show a purchase of tens of thousands of shares of PEIX stock (using the Rule 10b5-1 plan that is acceptable for officers and directors) at a purchase price of $1.12/share. That is, of course, a vote of confidence in this company's future, which I'm matching by buying as many shares as I can afford.
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