We remember what Floyd Wilson created in past iterations—a series of build-and-sell E&Ps culminating in the $15-billion exit of Petrohawk Energy four years back. Investors joined him in his newest venture, Halcon Resources, anticipating even greater rewards.

But the precipitous plummet in oil price caught Halcon at an exposed moment, a point in time when it was heavily levered on its way up to resource accumulation and delineation in the Bakken Shale, the East Texas Eagle Ford, the Utica and the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale.

Facing a 5.5x debt-to-EBITDA at year-end, Wilson, on the company’s fourth-quarter conference call, quipped, “If you’d called me a year ago and said we’re going to have this oil price, we would have less leverage than we do now. But you didn’t call me.”

In an April research note, Baird analyst Daniel Katzenberg categorized Halcon as a “high-risk, high-reward proposition” with a go-big-or-go-home approach.

Go home sounds dire, so in March, Halcon began a series of defensive financial transactions to preserve liquidity, with mixed response from analysts. Most notably, the Houston-based operator swapped $252 million in debt from its bondholders for 141 million shares of common equity in four deals, effectively reducing interest payments by $24 million annually, according to Wunderlich Securities, but bumping up shares outstanding by about 20%. It followed that with an upsized $700 million, private bond raise that it used to clear out its outstanding debt under its borrowing-base revolver.

Katzenberg bemoaned the moves as unpalatable to investors, particularly the equity dilution, saying they did little to combat Halcon’s massive $4 billion debt burden—debt-to-EBITDA still hangs at 5.0x. “We see high likelihood for additional deals,” he warned investors, down-shifting his grade to Neutral with a $1 target price. Halcon traded near $1.35 at press time.

The additional liquidity will help the company manage through a challenging 2015, he acknowledged, but noted the raises represent about 60% of the equity market capitalization of Halcon shares before issuance. “Without a major rebound in hydrocarbon pricing, we see this $700 million in principal as a reduction in the value waterfall to Halcon’s equity, further pressuring ultimate recoveries to shareholders.”

Johnson Rice’s Welles Fitzpatrick saw it slightly differently. “If additional note holders are willing to convert in to common shares, this could be a way for Halcon to further de-lever its balance sheet and preserve its liquidity while waiting for commodity prices to rebound.”

In Halcon’s May call, Wilson responded to the naysayers. “Popular or not, if you’re trying to reduce debt, you have to do something. We think the benefits of doing that [swapping debt for equity], and also achieving another highly friendly group of common shareholders, outweighs the dilution.”

While the debt swap “obviously dilutes the equity holders,” Wunderlich Securities analyst Jason Wangler, however, foresees an updraft lifting Halcon. “While the company is issuing a significant amount of shares to reduce debt, we still believe there is upside in the name at today’s levels.” With Halcon shares trading at 2.5x 2016 estimated cash flow per share vs. peers at 4.4x, “we think there is ample upside to Halcon as it continues to execute operationally and improve financially.” Wangler reiterated a Buy rating and $3 price target.

Even Katzenberg still sees the stock as a call option on crude pricing, able to grow into its debt once oil rebounds. “We have no doubt that Halcon will be innovative with its financing deals and operating tactics to allow it to live to fight another day,” he said. “We would not bet against Mr. Wilson and his team.”

Aside from its strong asset base, Halcon is bolstered by its hedge book. It has 88% of 2015 and 65% of 2016 production hedged at $88 and $81, respectively, buying it time to right its balance sheet.

Halcon ended the first quarter with $920 million of liquidity, after picking up net additional liquidity of about $550 million via the deals. Wilson assured, “We have sufficient liquidity to fund our operations and service our obligations for the next several years, even if low oil prices persist. Right now, we’re in awesome shape and don’t have to do anything.”

Wilson started predecessor Petrohawk to be a conventional player before changing course mid-flight to catch the unconventional winds of shale opportunity. Might that the diluted shareholders of Halcon soar to such heights and beyond.