** Commercial real estate lender Sunrise Realty Trust's SUNS.O shares fall 1.3% to $13.95 in early trading
** SUNS, which offers loans to projects in southern United States, launches public offering of 5.5 mln shares; price undisclosed
** Raymond James, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, BTIG and Oppenheimer are the joint book-running managers for the offering
** SUNS has 6.9 mln outstanding shares and $97.9 mln market capitalization, according to data compiled by LSEG
** Proceeds from the offering will be used to fund loans and for other purposes, including the repayment of debt, the company said
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)
((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))