Step 1: Use the -xaban suffix as a memory cue. Drugs ending in xaban (apixaban, rivaroxaban, edoxaban) are direct factor $Xa$ inhibitors.
Step 2: Apixaban binds the active site of factor $Xa$ directly, without needing antithrombin as a cofactor. Less factor $Xa$ activity means less thrombin produced and a weaker clot.
Step 3: This pharmacology underlies its approved uses: preventing and treating DVT and pulmonary embolism and preventing stroke in non-valvular atrial fibrillation. The matching label is therefore direct $Xa$ inhibitor.
Step 4: Exclude the rest. Antithrombin-dependent action describes heparin, a platelet activator would be prothrombotic (the opposite of intent), and factor XII is a coagulation factor, not a drug class.
\[\boxed{Direct\ Xa\ inhibitor}\]