MGM Mirage (MGM) shares are sharply higher in early trading Wednesday after the company removed a bankruptcy concern statement from a filing.

The company said Tuesday there is no longer "substantial doubt" about its ability to remain operational, after its offering of $2.6 billion in stock and debt. It will now be able to retire its short-term debt, which was the source of concern about the company's status.

Shares recently changed hands at $6.75, up nearly 16%. While the shares have more than doubled over the past three months, they remain down around 82% over the last year.

Robert LaFleur, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, said the news shouldn't come as a surprise, adding that the company has enough cash to meet its obligations in 2010. The statement about the company's going concerns was a "big drag on the stock" over the past several months, he said, but he was surprised by the market's strong reaction to the news.

"Anybody who's done their homework should have seen this one coming," he said.

But the real test for MGM will come in 2011, he said, when the company faces paying off a bigger credit line.

-By Alexandra Scaggs, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2673; Alexandra.Scaggs@dowjones.com