** Piper Sandler starts coverage of regional lender FirstSun Capital Bancorp FSUN.O with an "overweight" rating and $51 PT, a 22.9% upside to stock's last close

** Brokerage says it views FSUN's above-average exposure to commercial and industrial loans as more valuable as it brings lower cost deposits

** Says that FSUN has strong growth prospects with an ability to gain share in higher growth markets

** Piper Sandler expects likely insider selling by some long-standing private equity shareholders in the coming weeks or months to improve FSUN's stock float

** Floating shares refer to the company's stock that is available for trade on the open market, excluding restricted shares

** Stocks having a higher float are usually less volatile, and vice versa

** All two brokerages covering the stock rate FSUN "buy"; their median PT is $46.50, according to data compiled by LSEG

** FSUN stock up 3.6% YTD

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)

((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))