The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Kodak may be preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Kodak has been trying to sell off 1,100 patents since July in an attempt to raise enough capital to keep afloat. In November, the company said that if they didn't sell the patents, they would run out of cash within a year.

Kodak's potential bankruptcy comes after they posted a third-quarter loss of $222 million, their ninth quarterly loss in ten years, reports ABC News. They also reported that Kodak has lost 10 percent of its cash reserves in the last three months.

Ulysses Yannas, a Buckman, Buckman & Reid broker in New York, told ABC that even Chapter 11 may not protect them. Everybody has a sinking feeling. It's possible they can file for bankruptcy protection. Yet I don't think it's probable - principally because the need for cash is not imminent.

Kodak shares fell 18 cents (28.2 percent) on the news of the possible bankruptcy, and closed at 47 cents. The New York Stock Exchange reportedly informed Kodak that if there shares stay below $1 for longer than six months, they will be delisted.

Kodak started producing printers in 2005, and though that line is beginning to turn a profit, it is not enough to carry the company.

It feels like water torture, Mark Zupan, dean of the University of Rochester's Simon Graduate School of Business Administration told ABC. The game hinges on that (patent) sale, principally. And, at this point, they just have to create the insurance if they've got to go the other route. But the prospect of bankruptcy makes the sale more complicated too.

The patent sale would potentially bring in between $2 and $3 billion, but so far, there hasn't been much interest. When asked about a potential bankruptcy, a Kodak spokesman said the company does not comment on rumor or speculation.

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