On Monday I looked at three ASX shares that brokers have given buy ratings to this week.

Unfortunately, not all shares are in favour with them right now. Three that have just been given sell ratings are listed below.

Here’s why these brokers are bearish on these ASX 200 shares:

G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM)

According to a note out of the Macquarie equities desk, its analysts have retained their underperform rating but lifted the price target on this childcare centre operator’s shares to 80 cents. Macquarie believes that demand for childcare will be volatile in the near term and expects this to weigh on its performance. Especially given the oversupply of centres across the country. The G8 Education share price is trading at 94.3 cents on Tuesday afternoon.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

Another note out of the Macquarie equities desk reveals that its analysts have downgraded this mining giant’s shares to an underperform rating with a $1.90 price target. The broker made the move due to concerns over the weak prices of some of the commodities it produces. It feels this could lead to South32 falling short of expectations in the near term. Especially with the Australian dollar strengthening and becoming a headwind. The South32 share price is changing hands for $2.05 today.

Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR)

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have downgraded this casino and resort operator’s shares to an underweight rating with an improved price target of $3.30. According to the note, the broker believes that Star’s Sydney business will be negatively impacted by the opening of the new Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) resort in the city at the end of the year. It feels this potential disruption has not been priced into its shares currently. The Star share price is trading just below its price target at $3.24 this afternoon.

More reading

• 3 fantastic ASX 200 shares to buy right now
• ASX 200 jumps 3%: CBA rebounds, Afterpay hits a new record high
• Investing $1,000 into these ASX 200 shares could be a smart move
• Coles shares and 2 other ASX 200 companies to buy in the current market
• The Santos share price is down 36%! This is what I’d do today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Crown Resorts Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is up another 10.75% today (at the time of writing) and is sitting at $6.39 a share. That makes it a 5-bagger ASX share (up ~500%) in just 3 months – and a double-up in just the past month alone. That’s right, Zip shares were trading for $1.05 a share back in mid-March, making this buy now, pay later company one of the best ASX shares to have taken a punt on in the depths of the share market crash.

So what’s going on here? And more importantly, are Zip Co shares still a buy today?

Why the Zip Co share price has hit the roof

Along with its BNPL arch-rival Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Zip has benefited form a massive shift in investor sentiment since the panic that March brought. As the extent of the coronavirus lockdowns became clear, investors hit the panic button on BNPL shares.

It was feared that a lockdown-induced credit crunch and massive job losses would lead to a wave of defaults from BNPL users. Despite what the companies might say, Zip and Afterpay can be considered credit providers (in my view). That’s because they extend lines of credit to their users which can be defaulted on.

During the March sell-off, Zip (along with Afterpay) seemed to be treated like an ultra-risky bank share. That saw Zip shares fall more than 70% from ~$4.48 in February to $1.05 by mid-March. Afterpay shares also cratered, falling nearly 80% from around $40 in February to under $9 in March.

But since then, the sentiment has seismically shifted. After investors realised that (partly thanks to government assistance) Zip’s customers were not all about to default on their debts, the Zip share price rebounded in dramatic fashion. Between 19 March and 26 March, Zip shares were up more than 30%.

And then investors realised that the coronavirus pandemic might actually be helping payments companies like Zip Co. Cash as a payment method was already declining in popularity pre-COVID. But with cash usage presenting some hygiene issues during the lockdowns, customers turned to cashless solutions like Zip more than ever.

In fact, last month Zip reported that its revenue was up an astonishing 81% in April 2020. It also reported customer numbers were up 66%.

Is it too late to buy?

I don’t find a lot to like at the current Zip Co share price. Despite Zip being a great growth story, I think there might be a little bit of euphoria going for this company.

I do think  Zip Co deserves a ‘high growth’ share price. But I don’t consider investing in a company after a 500% gain in 3 months a great idea. BNPL payments shares like Afterpay and Zip are highly volatile, and so I think a better strategy is to wait for a dip to pick some shares up, rather than chasing the gains of the past 2 months at today’s prices.

More reading

• Why Afterpay, Super Retail, Uniti, & Viva Energy are charging higher
• ASX 200 jumps 3%: CBA rebounds, Afterpay hits a new record high
• Afterpay and Zip shares are rocketing higher today: Can they go even higher?
• Is the Altium share price the steal of the century?
• The top ASX growth shares I would buy for the 2020s

Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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