Welcome to Just Outside DC — the gyro sandwich of local newsletters (wrapped up nicely and dripping with sauce)

THE BIG IDEA

J.P. Morgan is kinda late to the Amentum Holdings party.

JP Morgan seems to have gotten fashionably late on this one. The big bank just revealed it built a $8.7 million stake in Chantilly government contracting firm Amentum Holdings (AMTM) during Q3.

While JPM was busy minting money off credit cards and M&A deals last quarter, a bunch of smaller hedge funds were already loading up on shares of the engineering and defense tech firm.

What happened? Amentum went public in early 2023 at $26 per share. The stock rallied hard, hitting $34.50 by June as investors got excited about its exposure to hot areas like space, cybersecurity, and energy contracting.

But then the momentum fizzled and shares fell all the way back to $18.38 by October. That's when the smart money piled in. Boutique funds like Dover Advisors, McKinley Carter Wealth, and Heritage Family Offices started scooping up Amentum at those bargain basement prices.

By the time JPM bought nearly 271,000 shares in Q3, paying around $32 each, the easy money had already been made. Amentum currently trades for just $23.22.

So what will JPM do now? The big bank will likely just hold on and collect any dividends Amentum throws off as a relatively mature government services provider. No fancy moves expected.

Some other potential plays:

• Use their analyst army to slap an "Outperform" rating on the stock

• Cross-sell Amentum execs on JPM's investment banking and corporate banking services

• Package Amentum into some kind of taxpayer-subsidized "freedom" ETF product

More broadly, this is just another example of JPMorgan and its Wall Street brethren being a step behind when it comes to making timely stock trades. Whether it was meme stocks, crypto, or the recent AI frenzy, the big institutional players always seem to miss the initial, profitable rallies.

Maybe JPM's Amentum stake will work out okay over many years. But it's yet another case of playing it too safe and leaving a boatload of alpha on the table for nimbler investors. There's no quarter asked or given when it comes to trading.

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Reader Restaurant Recommendation

One of our readers, Joseph, recommends you guys check out Gogi 92 in Leesburg. It’s a casual, all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ spot, which was named the best KBQQ spot in NoVA back in 2022!

QUICK HITS

• A former local bus driver made this post on what probably went into the recent decisions to close schools during snow days ❄️ 

• Check out this list of neighborhoods surrounding DC. In each one, the median home selling price is at least $1M 🏠️ 

• Speaking of pricy homes… check out this beauty going for more than $3M in Great Falls 👀 

• A student from Madison High made a mobile app to help his classmates study economics 📱 

• If you wanted to celebrate the return of giant pandas to the Smithsonian for some reason… Northern Virginia Magazine made this list of places you can get panda-themed baked goods 🐼 

• Up! Ultimate Adventure Park opens soon in Ashburn! 🧗 

LIVE EVENT LOWDOWN

• NoVA Wine Expo | a showcase of the finest wines and specialty vendors from the local area tomorrow at Dulles Expo Center 🍷 

• Russell Peters is performing at Capital One Hall today, tomorrow, and Sunday and there’s still tickets left. You’ve probably heard of him.. but in case you haven’t… 🤣 

• Band Battle #28 | come see the grand finals of the musical tournament at Jammin’ Java in Vienna tonight 🎸 

• GMU Basketball | the men’s team plays GW tomorrow at EagleBank Arena 🏀 

• Astronomy Festival | guided star gazing and more at Turner Farm Park Observatory in Great Falls tomorrow evening 🌠 

• Improv Comedy Show | a free show at the Little Theatre of Alexandria tomorrow night (ages 18+) 🎭️ 

• Animal Tea Party | meet the animals of the Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon tomorrow morning (ages 4-7) 🫖 

• $5 Comedy | a new hilarious lineup of local comedians, tomorrow night at the State Theatre in Falls Church 🎙️ 

• Commanders Rally | check out this list of partnered bars where you can watch tomorrow’s Commanders game with fellow fans 🏈 

• Moonshot Studio | hands-on art making for ages 5+ every weekend at the Kennedy Center 🎨 

• Twilight Zone | an artistic expression of the hidden wonders of the ocean, at the DC Artechouse 🌊 

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